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TRANSACTIONS 



DEVONSHIRE ASSOCIATION 



THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, LITERATURE, 
AND ART. 



1867.186a 



VOL. II. 



PLYMOUTH: 
WILLIAM BBENDON AND SON, 

26, OEOBOB SntSET. 



REPORT AM) TRANSACTIONS 



DEVONSHIRE ASSOCIATION 



THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, LITERATURE, 
AND ART. 



[BABN8TAPLE, JULY, 1867.] 



VOL II. PART I. 



LONDON: 

TAYLOR & FBANCIS, BED LION COTJBT, PLEET STREET. 

PLYMOUTH: W. BBENDON, OEOBGE STKBBT. 

1867. 



cr>wviA-Lww 



CONTENTS. 



Page 
Liflt of Officers ........ v 

List of Members ....... vii 

Bye-Laws ........ xi 

Eeport ........ xiv 

Balance Sheet ........ xvi 

The President's Address ...... 1 

North Devon Customs and Superstitions. By J. R. Chanter . . 38 

The Raised Beaches in Banistaple Bay, Inorth Devon. By W. 

Penffelly, f.ils., p.o.s. . . . .43 

The Early History and Aborigines of North Devon, and the Site of 

the supposed Cimbric Town Artavia. By J. R. Chanter . . 67 

Devonian Folk-Lore Illustrated. 3y Sir John Bowring, ll.d., f.r.s. 70 
On Prison Discipline. By E. Vivian, j.p. . . .86 

Notes on the Priory of Saint Mary, at Pilton. By Townshend M. 

Hall, F.o.s. ....... 93 

On the Remains of Ancient Fortifications in the neighbourhood of 

Bidcford. By John Augustus Parry . .99 

On the Longitude of Places, and on the application of the Electric 

Telegraph to determine it. By James Jerwood, m.a., f.o.s., m.c.p.s. 106 
On St. John's Church, Torquay, Struck by Lightning. By E. 

Vivian, f.m.s. . . . . . .111 

St. Anne's Chapel — The Grammar School, Barnstaple. By Charles 

Johnston, m.k.c.s. ....... 114 

Notes on the Carboniferous Beds a^oining the northern edge of the 

Qranite of Dartmoor. By G. Wareing Ormerod, m.a., f.o.s. . 124 
The Antiquity of Man, in the South -West of England. By W. 

Pengelly, f.r.s., f.o.s. ...... 129 

On some Mammalian Bones and Teeth found in the Submerged Forest 
at Northiun. By H. S. Ellis, F.&.A.8. (Communicated by Towns- 
hend M. HkU, F.o.s.) ...... 162 

On the Deposits occupying the Valley between the Braddons and 

Haldon Hills, Torquay. By W. Pengelly, f.r.s., f.o.s. . . 164 

On the Distribution of the Devonian Brachiopoda of Devonshire and 

Cornwall. Bv \V. Pengelly, f.r.8., f.o.s. . . .170 

On the Opening of an Ancient British Barrow at Huntshaw. By H. 

Fowler . . . . . . .187 

The Silver Mines of Combmartin. By Alfred S. Kingdon, m.d. . 190 
On the Source of the Miu-chisonite Pebbles and Boulders in the 

Triassic Conglomerates of Devonshire. By W. Vicary, f.o.s. . 200 
The Annelids of Devonshire, with a Resum6 of the Natuml History 

of the County. By Edward Parfitt, m.e.8. . .203 

A Catalogue of the Armelids of Devonshire, with Notes and Obser- 
vations. By Edward Parfitt, m.e.s. ... 209 

Notes on the Meteoric Shower of November, 1866, with Speculations 

Bugj^ested by it. By W. Pengelly, f.r.8., f.o.s. . . . 247 

On the Parasitism of Orobanche Major. By E. Parfitt, m.e.s. . 266 

On the Floatation of Clouds and Fall of Rain. By W. Pen- 
gelly, F.R.S., F.o.s. ....... 263 

On ihe Temperature of the Antient World. By Charles Daubeny, 

M.D., F.R.S. Professor of Botany, Oxford .267 

On the part taken by North Devon in the Earliest Exiglish Enterprises 

for the purpose of Colonizing America. By Richard W. Cotton 279 
On a Cornish Kjokkenmodding. By C. Spenoe Bate, F.R.B. . 281 



OFFICERS 

1867-68. 



W. PENOELLT, Esq., f.b.8., f.o.s., mc 

J. R. CHANTER, E8(». 

R. FARLEIGH, Eeo., THE WORSHIPFUL THE MAYOR OF 

BARNSTAPLE. 

THE RIGHT HON. EARL F0RTE8CUE. 

J. JERWOOD, Eso., M.A., F.O.8., ftc. W. F. ROCK, Ebq. 

THE RIGHT HON. EARL RUSSELL. 

Hon. Cnsfsm. 
E. VIVIAN, Esq., bjl., bt& 

jlon. ^nttnd S^tattnuB. 
Ret. W. HARPLET, m.a., f.c.p.8. H. S. ELLIS, Ebq., f.b.a.8. 



9on. Jfond Sresisitr. 
T. W. M. W. GUPPY, Ebq. 

^sbitorf of 
E. APPLETON, Esq., f.i.b.a. 



Jlon. yotal ^(crdars. 
R. W. COTTON, Esq. 



G. £. HEARDER, Esq. 



APPLETON, E. A. 
BARIIAM, T. F. 
BATE, 0. 8PENCE 
BOWBING, SIB J. 
OANN, W. 

GHAMPERNOWNE, A. 
CHANTEB, J. B. 
COTTON, B. W. 
COTTON, W. 
DAUBENY, C. 
DAW, C. H. 
ELLIS, H. 8. 
FARLEIQH, B. 
FOBTESCUE, BT. HON. 

EABL 
FOWLEB, H. 



Cosncil* 
FOX, 8. B. 
OAMLEN, W. 
OUPPY, T. W. M. W. 
HALL,T. M. 
HAMILTON, ▲. H. ▲. 
HABPLEY, W. 
HEABDEB, J. N. 
BINE, J. E. 
JEBWOOD, J. 
JOHNSTON, C. 
KENNAWAY, SIB J. 
KIBWAN, B. 
MACKENZIE, F. 
OBMEBOD, O. W. 
PABFITT, B. 



PABBY, J. A. 
PENQELLY, W. 
PYCBOFT, O. 
BISK, J. E. 
HOCK, W. F. 
BOWE, J. B. 
BU88ELL, BIGHT HON. 

EABL. 
SCOTT, W. B. 
SCOTT , W. B. 
8TEWABT, C. 
TANCOGK, O. J. 
THOMPSON, J. 
VICABY, W. 
VIVIAN, B. 



> 



LIST OF MEMBERS. 



Appleton, Edward, F.i.B.1.9 Co^noold, Torquay. 

tBabbage, Charles, ila., f.b.s., &o., I, Domet Square^ Manchester 

Square^ London, 
Barham, T. F., M.D., Highweek^ Newton Abbot [Torqitay. 

Barnes, Rev. Prebendary, M.I., The Vicarage^ St, Mary Churohf 
Bastard, S. S., Summerland Fkice, Exeter. 
Bate C. Spence, F.R.B., F.L.B., &o,, 8, Mulgrave Place, Plymouth, 
Bayly, John, Btnimtetck Tenxucy Plynumth, 
Bayly, Richard, Plymouth, 
Berry, Richard, Chagford, 
Blackmore, Humphrey, Garston^ Torquay. 
Booth, W., LUworney, Torquay. 
Bom, Thomas, Brook Street, TaviOoek. 
Bowring, Sir John, LL.D., F.R.&, ko., Clarefmont Hou^e, Exeter. 
Brent, R, M.D., Woodbury, [Tamitock. 

Brooke, His Highness the Riyah, Sir James, K.aB., BwtxUon^ 
Browne, Joseph, Tavistock, 

Cann, William, West of England Insurance OJice, Exeter. 

Carpenter-Gamier, J., Mount Tavy, Tavistock. 

Cawdle, W., Union Street, Torquay. ' 

Champemowne, A., Dartington House, Totnes. 

Chanter, J. R, Fort Hill, Barnstaple. 

Clark, Henry, Edgecumbe, Milton Abbot, Tavistock 

CoUey, J., Portland Square, Plymouth, 

Collier, W. F., Wood Town, Horrabridge. 

Cooper, B. H., Clydesdale Villa, Paignton Road, Torquay, 

Corrie, A. J., GlenaUon, Torquay, 

Cotton, R W., Barnstaple. 

Cotton, W., Pennsylvania, Exeter. 

Creed, J., Whiddon, Newton AbboL 

Cresswell, C. H., Heavitree, Exeter. 

Dansey, George, m.d., Stoke, Plymouth. 

Daubeny, C. W., m.d., ll.d., f.ius., Ac., Oxford ViUa, Torquay. 

Daw, C. H., Parkwood, Tavistock. 

t Honorary Member. 



VIU 

Dennis, J., juur., Tavistock, [Tracey, 

Divett, John, President of the Teign Naturalut^ Field Cltw, Bovey 

Doe, G., TorringUnu 

Donne, R J. M., Torcello, Torquay, 

Drewe, E. S., T/^e Grange^ Honilon, 

Durant, R, Sharpham, Totnea, 

Dunstone, J. J., B.A., Barnstaple, 

Eberlein, Herr, 5, Elm Grove, St LeonarcPs, Exeter, 
Elliott, W. H., M.D., Bouvetie House, St, Leonardo's, Exeter, 
Ellis, H. S., p.R.A.a, 1, Fair Park, Exeter, 
Evausou, R T., m.d., Homekurst, Torquay, ' 

Farleigh, R, Barnstaple, 

Finch, T., F.R.A.S., m.r.o.8., Westville, St, Mary Church, Torquay, 

Fortesoue, Right Hon. Earl, Castle Hill, Southmoltori, 

Fowler, H., TorringUm, 

Fox, S. R, Soulier nhay, Exeter, 

Oamlen, W. H., Bramford Speke, Exeter, 

Gill, H. S., Tiverton, 

Gill, J. H., The Bank, Tavistock, 

Gill, R B. E., Endsleigh Terrace, Tavistock, 

Gill, Rev. W., Venn, Lamerton, Tavistock, 

Griffith, Rev. D., 24, Taxham Villas, Cheltenham, 

Guppy, T. W. M. W., Barnstaple, 

Gwatkin, Rev. R, B.D., f.g.b., Bumtwood Lodge, Torquay, 

Hall, Townshend M., p.g.s., Pilton, Barnstaple, 

Hamilton, A. H. A., President of the Exeter Naturalists' Club, 

Millbrooke, Exeter, 
Harland, 0. J., F.A.S.L., Newholm, Tm-quay, 
Harness, T. B., m.d., Tavistock, 
Harper, J., Barnstaple, 

Harpley, Rev. W., m.a., F.ap.s., Clay hanger Rectory, Tiverton, 
Hoarder, G. E., Torwood Street, Tot^quay, 
Hearder, J. N., Buckwell Street, Plymouth. 
Hoarder, W., Rocombe, Torquay, 
Hedgeland, Rev. J. W., m.a., St, Leonardos, Exeter, 
Hiem, J. G., Barnstaple, 

Hine, J. K, f.i.b.a., 7, Mulgrave Place, Plymouth, 
Hodgson, \V. B., ll.d., 4i, Grove End Road, London, N, W, 
Hore, Rev. W. S., M.A., Barnstaple: 
Home, T. B., M.R.o.a, Adwell, Torquay, 
Hughes, Rev. J. B., Grammar ScJiool, Tiverton, 

Jerwood, J., M.A., f.g.s., p.o.p.s., 1, Bedford Circus, Exeter, 
Johnston, C, M.R.O.&, The Square, Barnstaple, 



IX 

Jones, Window, St Loy^s, Ueavitree, Exeter. 

Kelly, A., Kelly, Milton Abbot , Tavistock, 
Kendall, W., j.p., Summerland Place, Exeter, 
Kennawaj, Sir John, Bart, Escot, Honiton. 
Kirwan, Rev. R, Gittisham Rectoiy, Honiton. 
Kitson, W. H., 2, Vaitghan Faj'ode, Torquay. 

Ley, J. Peard, BiJeford. 

♦Lyte, F. Maxwell, EastltolmCj Torquay. 

Mackenzie, F., m.b.o.s., Tiverton. 

Mathews, J., Rock View, Tavistock. 

Mayjor, J., Abbey Mead, TavisUjck. 

Merrifield, J., f.r.a.8., Gascoigne Pkice, FlymotUh. 

Miles, W., Di£8 Field, Exeter, 

Mills, David, LameHon. 

Moore, W. F., The Friary, Flymouth. 

Morris, T., Abhotsfield, Tavistock. 

Mules, Rev. F., m.a., Marwood, Barnstaple. 

Nankivell, C. B., m.d., Layton HousCy Torquay. 

Ormerod, G. W., ila., p.g.b., Chagiford. 

Palk, Sir Lawrence, Bart., m.p., Haldon House, Torquay. 

ParBtt, Edward, m.b.s., Devon and Exeter Institution, ExeUr. 

Parry, J. A., Bideford. 

Pearse, W. C., Endsleigh Teirace, Tavistock. 

Pengelly, W., f.r.8,, f.o.s., &c., Latnama, Torquay. 

Phillips, J., Devon Square, Newton AbboL 

Pick, J. Peyton, Braunton, Barnstaple. 

Pigot, Rev. J. T., M.A., Fremington, Barnstaple. 

Pollard, W., m.r.c.8.. Southland House^ Torquay. 

Pratt, E., Barnstaple. 

Prout, Rev. E., Fairfield, Torquay. 

Prowse, A. P., Mannamead, Flymouth. 

Pycroft, A., m.r.o.8., f.g.s., Kenton, Exeter. 

Ridgway, S. R, LL.D., M.A., Marlborough House, Exeter. 

Risk, Rev. J. E., m.a., St. Andreufs Chapelry, Flymouth. 

Rock, W. F., Hyde CVjf, Wellington Grove, Blackheath. 

Rooker, A., Mount View, Flymouth. 

Row, W. N., Cove, Tiverton. 

Rowe, J. Brooking, f.l.8., Lockyer Street, Flymouth. [Sqtiare. 

Russell, Right Hon. Earl, K.O., f.r.8., 27, Chesham Flace, Belgrave 

Russell, Arthur, m.p. ,'2, Audley Square, London. 

Russell, Hastings, Endsleigh, Milton Abbot, Tavistock. 

* Those members to whose names an asterisk is prefixed are Life Members. 



Samuda, J. D. A., m.p., 7, Gloucester JSquare, London. W, 

Scott, W. R, GhudUigh 

Scott, W. R, P.H.D., Sl Leonard!*, Exeter, 

Shapter, T., m.d., Barnfdd, Exeter. 

♦Sheppard, A. R, The Hove, Torquay. 

Shute, R, Baring Crescent, Exeter. 

Spragge, F. H., Tmremont, Torquay. 

Spragge, W. K, T/ie Quarry, Paignton. 

Stewart, C, m.r.o.8., f.l.8.. Princess Square, Plymouth. 

Tancock, Rev. O. J., d.c.l.. The Vicarage, Tavistock. 
Teesdale, C. L., Sunss Cottage, Exeter. 
*Tetley, J. m.d., Belmont, Torre, Torquay. 
Thompson, J., m.d.. Butt-gardens, Bideford. 
Tinney, W. H., Snowdenham, Torquay. 
Troyte, C. A. W., ffuntsham Court, Tiverton. 
TumbuU, A., Parkwood, Torquay. 
Turner, T., Manston Tetrace, HeavUree, Exeter. 
Twose, Francis, Alfred Place, Plymouth, 

Vicary, W., p.g.s., The Priory, Colleton Crescent, Exeter. 
Vivian, E., b.a., &c, Woodfield, Toi-quay. 
Vivian, R H. D., Woodfield, Torquay. 
Vosper, J., Tavistock. 

♦Weymouth, R F., m.a., Portland Villas, Plymouth. 

White, Richard, Instow, Barnstaple. 

White, T. J., C^xi>ft Road, Torquay. 

Widger, W., Union Street, Torquay, 

Windeatt, John, 9, Brunswick Terrace, Plymouth. 

Windeatt, Thomas, Tavistock 



The following Table shewi the preeent state of the Aieooiatioa 
with reepeot to the munber of Memben. 





Honoraiy. 


Life. 


Annual. 


Total. 


August 10th, 1866 


i 


3 

1 


130 

26 

2 

13 

1 


133 

28 

2 

13 

1 


Since elected 


Since deceased 


Since withdrawn 


Since erased 




1 


July 25th, 1867 


1 


4 


140 


145 





BYE-LAWS. 



L The Association shall be styled the Devonshire Asso- 
ciation for the Advancement of Science, Literature, and Art 

8. The objects of the Association are — To give a stronger 
impalse and a more systematic direction to scientific enquiry 
in Devonshire ; and to promote the intercourse of those who 
cultivate Science, Literature, or Art, in different parts of the 
county. 

3. The Association shall consist of Members, Honorary 
Members, and Corresponding Members. 

4. Every candidate for membership, on being nominated 
by a Member to whom he is personally known, shall be 
admitted by the General Secretary, subject to the confirmation 
of the General Meeting of the Members. 

5. Persons of eminence in Literature, Science, or Art, con- 
nected with the West of England, but not resident in 
Devonshire, may, at a General Meeting of the Members, be 
elected Honorary Members of the Association ; and persons 
not resident in the county, who feel an interest in the Asso- 
ciation, may be elected Corresponding Members. 

6. Every Meinber shall pay an Annual Contribution of 
ten shillings, or a Life Composition of five pounds. 

7. Associdtes for the Annual Meeting only shall pay the 
sum of five shillings ; and Ladies the sum of two shillings 
and sixpence. 

8. Every Member shall be entitled gratuitously to a lady's 

ticket. 

9. The Association shall meet annually, at such time and 
place as shall be decided on at the previous Annual Meeting. 

10. A President, two or more Vice-Presidents, a General 
Treasurer, one or more General Secretaries, and a Council shall 
be elected at each Annual Meeting. 



Xll 

11. The President shall not be eligible for re-election. 

12. Each Annual Meeting shall appoint a local Treasarer 
and Secretary, who, with power to add to their number any 
Members of the Association, shall be a local Committee, to 
assist in making such local arrangements as may be desirable. 

13. In the intervals of the Annual Meetings^ the affairs 
of the Association shall be managed by the Council; the 
General and Local Officers, and Officers elect, being ex officio 
Members. 

14. The General Treasurer and Secretaries, and the Council, 
shall enter on their respective offices at the Meeting at which 
they are elected; but the President, Vice-Presidents, and 
Local Officers, not until the Annual Meeting next following. 

15. All Members of the Council must be Members of the 
Association. 

16. The Council shall have power to fill any Official 
vacancy which may occur in the intervals of the Annual 
Meetings. 

17. The Annual Contributions shall be payable in advance, 
and shall be due in each year on the day of the Annual 
Meeting. 

18. The Treasurer shall receive all sums of money due to 
the Association ; he shall pay all accounts due by the Asso- 
ciation after they shall have been examined and approved ; 
and he shall report to each Meeting of the Council the 
balance he has in hand, and the names of such Members as 
shall be in arrear, with the sums due respectively by each. 

19. Whenever a Member, shall have been three months in 
arrear in the payment of his Annual Contributions, the 
Treasurer shall apply to him for the same. 

20. Whenever, at an Annual Meeting, a Member shall be 
two years in arrear in the payment of his Annual Contribu- 
tions, the Council may, at its discretion, erase his name from 
the list of Members. 

21. The General Secretaries shall, at least one month 
before each Annual Meeting, inform each Member, by cir- 
cular, of the place and date of the Meeting. 

22. Members who do not, on or before the day of the 
Annual Meeting, give notice, in writing or personally, to 
one of the General Secretaries, of their intention to withdraw 
from the Association, shall be regai*ded as Members for the 
ensuing year. 



XIU 

23. The Association shall, within three months after each 
Annual Meeting, publish its Transactions, including the 
Laws, a Financial Statement, a List of the Members, the 
Report of the Council, the President's Address, and such 
papers, in abstract or in extenso, read at the Annual Meeting, 
as shall be decided by the Council 

24. Every Member shall receive gratuitously a copy of the 
Transactions. 

25. The Accounts of the Association shall be audited 
annually, by Auditors appointed at each Annual Meeting, 
but who shall not be ex officio Members of the Council 



THE REPORT OF THE COUNCIL, 

At pr$9mUd at th$ General Meeting, at Barmtapk, /lUff 2Srdf 1867. 



Tub Council in presenting this, their Fifth Annual Eeport, 
have the gratification to announce that the year which has 
just expired has been marked by signal success to the Devon- 
shire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature, 
and Art; the accession of new members having been un- 
usually large, and the number of those who have discon- 
tinued their membership comparatively small. 

The Fifth Annual Meeting was held at Tavistock, on Wed- 
nesday, August 8th, and two following days, the Inaugural 
Address being delivered at the Guildhall by the Right 
Honourable 'Eovl Russell, the President for the year, to a 
large assembly. 

On Thursday, the 9th, the Association met at 11 o'clock 
a.m., when the following papers were read and discussed. 
On account of the great number of papers, and the reading 
being limited on that occasion to one day only, it was neces- 
sary to divide the Association into two sections. 

SECnON A. 
^""^DiS^te *^ ^^'^ reference to the Devonian | ^ .^ j BowHng, L.L.D., etc. 

On the Principles of Rhythm, as applied to En- ) m i? »^-*^ « ^ 

KlishVeree .. .. .. .. ] T, F. Barham, iL.Ty, 

On Photographic Potraiture Dr. Seott 

On the Poor Laws, with the effects in Devon of ) « ir:^^^ „ . 

Union Rating ] ^' ^^"^"^ ^'*'' 

Archffiological Notes of Tavistock and Neigh- \ „ AvvUtofu p i b a 

bourhood ) ppteum^ .... 

St. Michaers Chun;h, Brentor /. J7iW, f.i.b.a. 

On the Celtic Remains of Dartmoor John Kelly. 

On the Traces of Tin Streaming in the Vicinity \ r, or n.^^^^ m, . ^ r, o 

of Chagford .]^' ^' ^^^^ *'-^» ^'^'^• 

SECTION B. 

On Raised Beaches fF. Pengelly, f.r.8., etc. 

On Two Species of Fresh Water Polyzoa, new to ) ^ ParMt m b s 

Science J -^ * * ' ' 

On a Flint-find in a Submerged Forest Bed of ) jr e r/;.-. » » » o 

Barnstaple Bay, near Westward Ho ! . . . . ^ ^' ^' ^"*^' r.R.A.8. 
An Attempt to Approximate the Date of the Flint \ ^ c^^^^ x>^^^ „ „ „ ^♦^ 

FUk«of Devon ^ C. Spm>» BaU, F.R.S., ete. 



XV 

On the Dependence of the Amount of Ozone on ) n n^.4ju— . », ^ ... 

the Direction of the Wind ]^' ^^^'"'^^^ «•»•» '»•»• 

On the LithodomouB Perforations above the Sea 5 nr i>^„^u, - « « «♦« 

Level in South Eaatem Devonshire . . ..]*^' ^^^'tf^ '•»•*•' ^' 
On the Rate of Magnetic Develcmment in Iron \ 

whilst under the Action of Electrical Cur- > /. N. Hearder. 

rents ) 

°° *mt^\^^^'^ Submerged Foreet ia | ^ p^^^^ ^^.^ ^ 

On the Results of some Experiments in Hybrid- ) j. o^^ 

izing certain varieties of Pear ) 

On the Triassic Outliers of Devonshire W. Pmgellyy F.B.8.y etc. 

In the evening the members dined together at the Bedford 
Hotel, and afterwards attended an Exhibition of Works of 
Art, which had been prepared with great pains and expense 
by a Local Committee, at whose invitation the members of 
the Association were present. 

Excursions to Great Mis Tor, and other points of interest 
on Dartmoor, had been planned for the 10th, but^ as in the 
preceding year, they were abandoned, in consequence of the 
weather being unfavourable. 

It was determined that the next meeting should be held at 
Barnstaple, and the following officers were appointed for that 
occasion ; — President, W. Pengelly, Esq., F.R.8., F.G.a, etc. ; 
Vice-Presidents, J. R Chanter, Esq., R Farleigh, Esq. 
(the Worshipful the Mayor of Barnstaple), Eight Honourable 
Earl Fortescue, J. Jerwood, Esq., W. F. Rock, Esq., Eight 
Honourable Earl EusseU; Hon. Treasurer, E. Vivian, Esq., 
M.A., etc., Torquay ; Hon. Secretaries, Eev. W. Harpley, m.a., 
F.C.P.S., Clayhanger, Tiverton, H. S. Ellis, Esq., F.R.A.8., 
Exeter; Hon. Local Treasurer, T. W. M. W. Guppy, Esq.; 
Hon. Local Secretary, E. W. Cotton, Esq. 

The Council have published the President's address, to- 
gether with papers and abstracts read before the Association ; 
also a financial statement, and the bye-laws. Special atten- 
tion is called to the bye-laws as now adopted, as they have 
been entirely remodelled, and considerably extended. 

Copies of the Transactions have been sent to all the mem- 
bers, and to the following societies : — 

The Eoyal Society ; the Linnsean Society ; the Royal 
Institution, Albemarle Street; the Assistant Secretary of 
the British Association ; ' the Exeter Institution ; the Ply- 
mouth Institution ; the Torquay Natural History Society ; 
the Eoyal Geographical Society of Cornwall, the Eoyal 
Institution, Truro. 



XVI 



I 



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WCD OOOOOO«0C0"^ 




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I 






THE PRESIDENTS ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen of the Devonshire Association :— It is some- 
what usual — perhaps desirable — on occasions like the present, 
for the opening address to contain a summary of the pro- 
minent facts in the history of Science, Literature, and Art 
during the preceding twelve months. It would be easy for 
me to follow this practice, for the period since we met last 
has been by no means unproductive of important scientific 
events. Not only has the problem of laying an electric cable 
across the Atlantic been brilliantly solved, but it has been 
shown that a cable which has been lost a year, in an ocean 
upwards of two miles deep, can be recovered, carried to its 
destination, and rendered perfectly available for the purpose 
for which it was originally intended. 

Less than four centuries ago America was discovered, after 
a voyage of seventy days from Europe, — a voyage, be it re- 
membered, undertaken by a scientific man and an enthusiast, 
who, by almost all the respectabilities, was denounced as a 
madman or a knave. Thanks to Science, the voyage can now 
be performed in ten days, and we can send a thought across 
the Atlantic in a few seconds. 

And by what a step-by-step process have the sciences 
which commercial enterprise has thus recently enlisted in 
her service reached their lofty positions ! The Utilitarian 
may with advantage remember that truths which he has 
applied to eminently useful purposes have frequently had a 
very protracted infancy. The Chaldean shepherd detected a 
few wandering bodies amongst the stellar hosts thousands of 
years before Astronomy was capable of presenting to the 
navigator the priceless gift of a method of determining his 
longitude by lunar distances. It was discovered in early 
times that a force existed which was capable of making 
amber attract light substances, but a hundred generations of 
men had to pass away before it was ascertained that this 

VOL. XL B 



2 MR. PENGELLY S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 

same force could carry a message round the world with a 
speed outstripping that of light. That steam could move a 
toy was known when our British ancestors were savages, but it 
was not until the time of our own generation that it was found 
to be equal to the propulsion of sea-going ships. Within the 
quadrangle of the British Museum, there formerly lay a fine 
example of the ship of the aborigines of this island— the 
trunk of a tree, hollowed out probably with the aid of fire 
and flint implements : the application of scientific principles 
has transformed her into the Great Eastern, During their 
growth and development, these principles and truths were but 
lightly esteemed, and their votaries were sometimes allowed 
to starve ; but without them the Atlantic cable would never 
have been heard of. 

Though we ardently admire, and are eminently proud of 
the application of scientific principles to purposes of general 
utility, especially in a world where, in the vast majority of 
cases, the business of life is to secure the means of life, it is 
probable that, notwithstanding its fascinating and important 
achievements in telegraphy, 1866 will be chiefly remembered 
as the year of the great meteoric shower. Those who were 
so fortunate as to witness the gorgeous spectacle displayed 
on the night of the 13th- 14th of November must have 
been deeply impressed, not only with the splendour of the 
scene, but with the universality of law, the dignity of science, 
and the existence of faculties, aspirations, and cravings which 
lie beyond the reach of mere utilitarianism. 

Attractive as are the topics I have named, as well as many 
others contained in the budget of the last twelve months, I 
have decided to give my Address a completely local character, 
and to aim at nothing more than a statement of the present 
position of opinion respecting the Geology of Devonshire. In 
making this decision I may have been unwise ; but a people's 
history depends so largely on their mental development, and 
this is so closely connected with their avocations, which in 
their turn so distinctly hinge on the nature of the soil, that I 
have been unable to persuade myself that to any one likely 
to attend such a meeting as the present, the theme I have 
selected would prove utterly uninteresting. Whether the 
dwellers in a district were to be farmers, miners, manufac- 
turers, or caterers for the comforts and pleasures of visitors, 
was pre-determined by the agents which, at various periods of 
the remote past, produced the geological characteristics by 
which they are surrounded. To a large extent their history 
was pre-written on their rocks. 



MR. pengelly's presidential address. 3 

It cannot be needful to inform those interested in the 
Natural History of Devonshire, that our county is rich in 
geological phenomena. It includes numerous varieties of 
Aqueous, Volcanic, Metamorphic, and Plutonic rocks ; Silicious, 
Argillaceous, Calcareous, and Carbonaceous rocks; Chemical, 
Mechanical, and Organic rocks ; and Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and 
Cienozoic rocks. Some of its aqueous deposits, like the lime- 
stones of South Devon, are little more than aggregates of 
animal remains ; whilst others, like the red sandstones and 
associated stmta, covering hundreds of square miles, contain 
no remnant of contemporary organic existence. Nowhere, 
probably, can the phenomena of contortions, jointage, cleavage, 
and mineral veins be studied with greater advantage; the 
numerous ossiferous caverns in our limestones are celebrated 
throughout the world ; our clifiFs abound in raised beaches 
and other evidences of a general uphe'aval ; and the retreating 
tide lays bare submerged forests on our strands. 

In the explication of phenomena so varied, the interpreters, 
as might have been expected, have in several instances 
differed so widely, that Devonshire has been the field of 
many a hard-fought geological battle ; and, unless the omens 
have been misunderstood, future severe contests may be ex- 
pected. 

In determining the relative ages of rocks the geologist 
relies on certain trustworthy tests. Thus, he is confident that, 
where he has a clear case of superposed strata, every bed is 
older than those overlying, and more modem than those 
underlying, it ; that a conglomerate is more recent than the 
rocks which furnished the pebbles of which it is made up ; 
that the rocks which, in the forms of dykes and veins, invade 
other rocks, are more modern than those invaded ; and that 
strata lithologically similar, found in localities not widely 
separated, and charged with the same species of fossils, are 
geological contemporaries. 

With the aid of these tests the rocks of Devonshire are, 
with few exceptions, easily arranged as a chronological series. 
The exceptions are some of the Traps, the Metamorphic 
schists forming the southern angle of the county, and some 
of the Superficial gravels. 

Omitting these, and taking the order of history, the follow- 
ing is their succession : — 

1st The Slates, Grits, and Limestones lying between the 
Bristol Channel on the north, and a line drawn through 
Barnstaple and Clayhanger on the south ; as well as those 
which occupy the greater part of South Devon, between the 

B 2 



4 MR. pengelly's presidential address. 

parallel of Newton Bushel and Ta\'istock on the north, and 
that of Start Bay and Hope on the south. 

Some of the Greenstones belong chronologically to this 
group ; and, unless they are of higher antiquity, the Schists 
of the Start and Bolt district, previously mentioned, must be 
placed here also. With this possible exception, the rocks in 
the series here defined are the oldest of the county. 

2nd. The Culmiferous or Carbonaceous rocks which, with 
few exceptions, occupy the whole of central and west Devon- 
shire. 

3rd. The Dartmoor Granites. 

4th. The Red Sandstones, Conglomerates, and Marls which 
occupy the greater part of the county east of a line from 
Torbay to Loxbere, and which in one marked instance pene- 
trate as a long narrow tongue, westward of this line, by 
Crediton to Jacobstow. 

These rocks occur also, as small outlying or detached por- 
tions, in various parts of the county. 

To this age must be referred, at least, most of the feldspathic 
Traps, which occur chiefly near the western verge of the area 
of the red rocks. 

5th. The Lias, found at the base of the cliflf and on the 
tidal strand eastward from Axmouth. 

6th. The Greensands and Chalks, well seen at Beer Head 
and in other parts of south-eastern Devonshire, and of which 
" outliers " exist on the Haldons and elsewhere. 

7th. The Lignites, Clays, and Sands occupying the Bovey 
basin, and known as the Bovey deposit. 

Sth. The Gravels which overlie the Bovey beds, the sum- 
mits of the Haldons, and numerous other paits of the county. 

9th. The Ossiferous Caverns, especially those of Torquay, 
Brixham, Yealmpton, and Oreston. 

10th. The Eaised Beaches which, at about thirty feet above 
mean tide, occur at various parts of the coast on both the 
English and Bristol Channels. 

The evidence respecting the relative ages of the Caverns 
and Beaches is meagre and insufficient. 

11th. The Submerged Forests, which at low water are 
frequently seen on the strand, and which extend to con- 
siderable distances both seaward and landward. 

Just as the historian divides the time with which he deals 
into Periods, defined by the commencements and terminations 
of dynasties; so the geologist has found it convenient to break 
up the time represented by the entire series of fossiliferous 
rocks into great Epochs, during which the oi^auisms which 



MR. PENGELLY S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 



5 



tenanted the earth were, as a whole, marked by well-known 
characters. These Epochs, proceeding upward from the most 
ancient, are the Palceozoic, or Ancient Life ; Mesozoic, or Middle 
Life ; and Ccenazoic, or Recent Life. The historian further 
divides his dynastic Periods into Eeigns; in like manner 
the geologist has been under the necessity of breaking up 
his Epochs into Periods, as in the following scheme : — 



EPOCHS. 


PERIODS. 


Cffinozoic • «=» Recent Life. 


Recent 
Post-Pliocene. 
Pliocene, t 
Miocene. 
Eocene. 


Mesozoic t= Middle Life. 


Cretaceous. 
Jurassic. 
^Triasdc. 


PalflBozoic » Ancient Life. 


Permian. 

Carboniferous. 

Devonian. 

Silurian. 

Cambrian, f 

Lauruntian. 



The progress of Science has rendered needful further di- 
visions and subdivisions ; but to these it is not necessary to 
call attention at present. 

Still to carry on the historical comparison, just as the 

♦ The term " Caenozoic" is used in somewbat different senses by different 
authors. Professor Phillips, by whom the word was first suggested, uses 
it, as in the text, to include all the deposits above the Cretaceous, whilst 
Sir Charles Lyell and most others restrict it to the Eocene, Miocene, and 
Plioceue systems, giving to the more modem deposits the general name of 
Post-Tertiary — Tertiarif being used by them as synonvmous with Caenozoic. 
^^Quaternary^^ is sometimes used as synonymous with "Post-Tertiary." 

t Sir Charles Lyell divides the Pliocene deposits into '* Older and 
Newer;" but many authors restrict "Pliocene" to the former, and call 
the latter " Pleistocene," in accordance with a proposal made by Sir C. 
Lyell when he introduced the term in 1839 ; but some confusion having 
arisen in the use of the latter word, its inventor has suggested in his 
recent works that it is best to abstain from it entirely, and has recom- 
mended those who still think it convenient, to retain it as a synonym 
for PostnPliocene. See LyelPs "Antiquity," p. 6 (1863), and " Elements," 
ed. 6, p. 108 (1865). 

X The term " Neozoic,'* or " New Life,'* is sometimes used to embrace 
all the Mesozoic and Caenozoic systems. 

§ Mr. Page (" (Geology for Qenerai Readers," p. 12, 1866,) has recently 
proposed the term " Eozoic," or " Dawn Life," for the Cambrian and Lau- 
rentian groups, which he woold sever from the Palaeozoic systems. 



6 MR. PENGEIiLY'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 

''Beigns" of the historian are of different lengths, so the 
" Periods" of the geologist are not to be supposed to have 
necessarily a constant chronological value. 

Though, with the exceptions already mentioned, it is not 
difficult to settle the relative ages of the formations of Devon- 
shire, it is by no means easy to determine in all cases their 
exact places in the chronological scale of the geologist. Thus 
80 long ago as 1802, Playfair stated that there wei-e no rocks 
more decidedly primary than those which surrounded Ply- 
mouth ;* and during the sixty-five years which have elapsed 
since that opinion was recorded, the age of the group (1) to 
which they belong has been attempted to be fixed by numerous 
geologists, including Berger, De Luc, Thomson, Kidd, W. 
Smith, Brande, W. Phillips, Greenough, Sedgwick, Conybeare, 
Dufr^noy, E. de Beaumont, De la Beche, Prideaux, J. Phillips, 
Godwin -Austen, Murchison, and others. Many of these 
writers, as well as otters, addressed themselves also to the 
age of the parallel group in North Devon ; but so far is the 
question ftx)m being set at rest, that, in April last, Mr. 
Etheridge, Palaeontologist to the Geological Survey of Great 
Britain, read to the Geological Society of London an elaborate 
paper on " The Physical Structure of North Devon," in which 
his aim was to confute the opinions, on the same topic, ad- 
vanced by Mr. Beete Jukes, Local Director of the Geological 
Survey of Ireland, in papers read to the same society during 
1866. 

There is no difficulty in deciding that the rocks in ques- 
tion, in both the north and south of the county, belong to 
the Palaeozoic series ; for, to go no further, they contain 
trilobites — a form of life exclusively Palaeozoic. Indeed, 
the same fossils prove them to be not more modem than the 
Carboniferous period, as there are no known Permian trilo- 
bites. This, however, leaves a very wide range, which seems 
to have been very freely used. 

Prior to 1836, the prevalent opinion was, that not only 
these rocks, but those constituting the second group also — 
the culmiferous series — belonged to the Tmnsition ( =^ Cam- 
brian + Silurian) rocks. In the year just mentioned. Pro- 
fessor Sedgwick and Mr. (now Sir) E. I. Murchison, announced 
the opinion that the culmiferous series, occupying nearly one- 
half of our county, were equivalents of the Carboniferous 
system, and thus prepared the way for an unfettered study of 

♦ Quoted by Lonsdale. Trans. Geol. Sec. Series ii., vol. v., part 3, 
p. 722. 



MR pengelly's presidential address. 7 

the underlying, and, therefore, older strata, on the north and 
south. 

In 1837, Mr. Lonsdale, having examined Mr. Godwin- 
Austen's collection of fossils from the limestones of South 
Devon, came to the conclusion that of the 62 species which 
he determined, 13 were known Silurian forms, 10 were 
Carboniferous, whilst the remaining 39 were, in England, 
found only in the Devonshire group. Remembering that the 
Old Red Sandstone, so largely developed in Scotland and in 
Herefordshire, was intermediate to the Carboniferous and 
Silurian systems; that, according to Murchison, there existed 
a regular passage from it upwards into the former, and down- 
wards into the latter; and that the suites of fossils in the 
two systems are perfectly distinct, Mr. Lonsdale's determina- 
tions induced him "to suggest that the South Devon lime- 
stones were of an intermediate age, between the Carboniferous 
and Silurian systems, and consequently, of the age of the 
Old Red Sandstone."* 

It is but justice to add, that the late Mr. J. Prideaux of 
Plymouth, speaking of the geology of some parts of the 
country near that town, says, "Cat-down and Teat's-hill are 
entirely limestone ; which very soon after parting from the 
slate assumes a reddish hue, from the presence of siliceous 
matter of that colour. This presently after appears in bulk 
in the character of the old red sandstone ; alternating with 
the limestone, south, though much less strikingly than the 
slate does northward."! This appears to have been the 
earliest recognition of the existence in Devonshire of rocks 
of the age of the Old Red Sandstone. It does not appear 
that Mr. Prideaux regarded the underlying limestones and 
slates as equivalents of the same system, or that the evidence 
on which he relied was anything more than the unsatisfac- 
tory fact of mineral character. In 1838, Dr. Boase, in his 
"Geology of Cornwall," stated that the strata of Cawsand 
Bay are generally believed to be old red sandstone.! 

In 1839, partly from a re-examination of portions of Devon- 
shire, as well as from the palseontological evidence, Messrs. 
Sedgwick and Murchison expressed their conviction, in 
harmony with the previous suggestion of Mr. Lonsdale, 
" That the great mass of the strata which support and appear 
to pass upwards into the culm field, are the equivalents of the 
Old Red system properly so-called;" and they proposed for 

* Trans. Geol. Soc, London. Series ii., vol. v., part 3, page 727. 

t Trans. Plymouth Institution, page 36^ 

t Tnins. Grool. Soc, Cornwall, vol. iv., page 216. 



8 MB. pengellt's presidential address. 

these older rocks of Devon, "the term 'Devonian System,' as 
that of all the great intermediate deposits between the 
Silurian and Carboniferous Systems."* 

This decision was very largely accepted, and the term 
** Devonian" found its way into geological literature, in the 
sense in which its authors intended — the name of the entire 
interval of time between the Silurian and Carboniferous 
periods, and chronologically exchangeable for "Old Red 
Sandstone." 

Nevertheless, there were some difficulties in the way of its 
unqualified acceptance: the true old red rocks of Scotland, 
Herefordshire, and elsewhei-e, are, as their name implies, red 
sandstones and conglomerates, having no lithological resem- 
blance to the clay slates, grey limestones, and brown sand- 
stones and flags of Devonshire. The former, moreover, are 
crowded with remains of fish and eurypteridean crustaceans, 
none of which had at that time been found in this county ; 
whilst our rocks teem with sponges, corals, encrinites, trilo- 
bites, and shells, none of which occur in the supposed con- 
temporary rocks north of the Bristol Channel. 

There is, probably, little or no difficulty in accounting for 
the absence in the Old Red rocks of the fossils of Devonshire. 
The colour to which those deposits owe their name is due to 
the presence of the red oxide of iron, a substance unfriendly 
to animal life, and which, by its prevalence at and near the 
bottom of the old Scotch seas of deposit, would prevent the 
existence there of corals, shells, and other dwellers at the sea 
bottom. It is less easy, however, to account for the absence 
in Devonshire of the ftee-swimming fish, which swarmed in 
the comparatively tainted waters of the north, and might 
therefore have been looked for in the purer ocean of the 
south. It has been suggested that the ichthyolites may be 
the remains oi fresh-water fish; that the difficulty is removed 
by supposing the southern area to have been oceanic, and the 
northern to have been lacustrine or estuarine. This hypo* 
thesis, however, must at least be received in a qualified 
form ; for when speaking of the geology of Russia, Sir R I. 
Murchison informs us, "That the same fossil fishes, of species 
well-known in the middle and upper portions of the Old 
Red of Scotland, and which in large tracts of Russia lie 
alone in sandstone, are in many other places found inter- 
mixed in the same bed, with those shells that characterize the 
group in its slaty and calcareous form in Devonshire. And 

• PhiL Mag., April, 1839. Also, Trans. Geol. Soc., LondoD. Series ii., 
vol. y.9 part 3, pages 688-703. 



MR. pekqellt's pkesidentul address. 9 

he quotes his colleague, Helmersen, who states, "That this 
intermixture is visible in numerous parts of Bussia; and 
that any person who may be sceptical, has only to visit the 
Museum of the Imperial School of Mines, to witness frequent 
examples of typical Devonian MoUusca in the same hand 
specimen with Old Eed ichthy elites like those of Scotland.'** 
Two inferences may be drawn from this interesting and 
important fact : 1st, The fish, if fresh- water, were, like the 
salmon of the present day, capable of visiting the sea. 2nd, 
They must have been contemporaries of the corals and other 
Devonshire organisms. It does not necessarily follow, how- 
ever, that the two groups were coeval in either their advent 
or their withdrawal. Indeed, when it is borne in mind that 
the specific life of a lowly organized group is greater than 
that of one of more complex structure, it becomes probable 
that the invertebrata of Devonshire represent a greater 
amount of time than the vertebrata of Scotland. 

Sir R I. Murehison has made a three-fold division of the 
Old Red of Scotland, and also of the deposits of Devon and 
Cornwall, and has placed the upper division of each on the 
same horizon, and so on with the middle and lower divisions 
respectively. Moreover, he has assigned characteristic fossils 
to each of the six groups.f Not only when taken as wholes, 
but in their great sub-divisions, he regards the Old Red Sand- 
stones and Conglomerates north of the Bristol Channel, and 
the slates, limestones, and grits underlying the cuhniferous 
beds south of it, as strictly contemporary systems; and he 
holds that each system completely fills the Siluix)-Carboni- 
ferous interval 

This decision* though very generally adopted in continental 
Europe and America, as well as in Britain, has been objected 
to from time to time. Thus, the late Rev. D. Williams 
considered that the Devonian system " occupies an enormous 
interval between the old red sandstone and the mountain 
limestone;" and that the Foreland sandstones "provisionally 
constitute the mineralogical base of the entire system," and 
"are almost identical in mineral composition with the old 
red sandstone of Monmouthshire.** J The late Sir Henry De 
la Beche regarded " the bulk of the Devonshire and Cornish 
rocks as, at least in part, equivalent to the lower beds of the 
Carboniferous limestone, to the passage-beds between the old 
red sandstone and carboniferous system of Ireland, South 

♦ " Siluria," 3rd ed., page 382. 1859. 

t Ibid, page 43a 

X Trans. Roy. QeoL Soc, Cornwall, vol tL, page 123. 184a 



10 MR. PENGELLY'S PBESIDENtlAL ADDRESS. 

Wales, Gloucestershire, and Somerset, and also to some por* 
tlon of the higher part of the old red sandstone of Hereford- 
shire and adjacent districts."* 

Professor Haughton, still more heretical, says, "1 do not 
believe in the lapse of a long interval of time between the 
Silurian and Carboniferous deposits — in fact, in a Devonian 
period. The same blending of corals has been found in 
Ireland, the Bas Boulonnais, and in Devonshire, where 
Silurian and Carboniferous forms are of common occurrence 
in the same localities."! The truth of this assertion is, 
perhaps, more than doubtfuL It is known that the eminent 
authorities, Mr. Lonsdale and M. Milue Edwards, differ 
somewhat widely respecting our fossil corals; they agree, 
however, that there is not a single Carboniferous coral in our 
Devonshire rocks. 

In 1862, I ventured into this discussion, and stated, on 
palaeontological evidence, that "there are in Devon and 
Cornwall no representatives of the Lower and Middle Old 
Red rocks of Scotland, but that the Lowest beds of the 
former are on the horizon of the Upper division of the 
latter.": 

The following is very briefly the evidence on which this 
opinion was based : Of the 347 supposed species of inver- 
tebrata then found in both North and South Devon and in 
Cornwall, 8 were believed to belong also to the Silurian system, 
and 58 to the Carboniferous; hence the connexion of the 
Devonian with the latter was more intimate than with the 
former. In addition to this, I had recently found, between 
Meadfoot Sands and Hope's Nose, in Torbay, a scale of the fossil 
fish Phyllolepis concentricus — the only known Old lied ichthyo- 
lite yet met with south of the Bristol Channel. It occurred in 
the Lowest Slates of Devonshire— known to be so from the 
unquestionable test of superposition — where are also found 
specimens of the coral Plcurodictyum prohlcmaticum : that 
is, a fossil characteristic of Sir K. I. Murchison*s Upper Old 
Red, in the same group with another fossil peculiar to his 
Lower Devonian. 

In accordance with the foregoing opinion, I suggested, in 
1863, that the Old Bed and Devonshire beds collectively, 
but not separately, fill the Siluro- Carboniferous interval; 
and that if this interval were, in consequence of established 
usage, to be still called the " Devonian period," it would be 

♦ Mom. Geol. Survey, vol. L, page 103. 1846. 

t " Voyage of the rox." Appendix, No. 4, page 387. 

X Report Brit. Assoc. 1862. Page 86. 



MR. pbngelly's presidential address. 



11 



convenient to divide it into sub-periods — the Old Eed, or 
more ancient; and the Danmonian, or more modern. The 
succession being as in the following scheme :* 



PEIU0D6. 


8UB-PBBIOD6. 


DIYIBIONS. 


LOCAUTIES. 


Carboniferous. 


Deronian. 


Danmonian. 


Upper Danmonian. 


(a) Petherwyn, &c. 


Middle Danmonian. 


(A) Bradley VaUey,&c. 


Lower Danmonian, 
and Upper Old Red. 


(0 Meadfoot, &c. 
Dura Den, &c. 


Old Red. 


Middle Old Red. 


Caithncaa, &c. 


Lower Old Red. 


Forfar, &c. 


Silurian. 









In 1866, Mr. Page said, "We have examined the strata of 
Devonshire from nortli to south and from east to west, and 
instead of finding the equivalents of the Scottish Old Red 
we discovered in the Northern division one set of rocks that 
should be ranked with the lowermost Carboniferous, and in 
the Southern another that perhaps was contemporaneous 
with portions of the middle and upper Old Red. At all 
events, the rocks of Devonshire as a whole do not represent 
the Old Red Sandstone of Scotland, of Northern Europe, 
and North America as a whole." t 

Mr. Beete Jukes has recently brought forward a new 
opinion, which, from his great experience as a geologist, and 
from his official position, has received a large amount of 
attention, and is not unlikely to attract still more, for autho- 
rity has branded it as a heresy. In order to a clear idea 
of this opinion, it may be desirable to state that the Carbon- 

* Davidson's "Devonian Brachiopoda/' Pal. Soa, pages 44, 46. 1864. 
The following are further localities in Devon and Cornwall : — 

(a) Baggy Point, Pilton, TiDtagel, &c. 

(b) Ilfracombe, Barton, Woolborough, Hope's Nose, Babbacombe, 
Dartington, Berry Head, Plymouth, and other limestone districts. 

(c) Mudstone, Linton, Looe, Polperro, Fowey. 

t *• Geology for General Readers," page 93. 1866. 



12 MR. pengelly's presidential address. 

iferous system of deposits is frequently divided into three 
groups : — 

The Upper, or Coal Measures. 

The Middle, or Carboniferous limestones. 

The Lower, or Carboniferous Slates. 

The Slates are well developed in the south-west of Ireland, 
where, Mr. Jukes tliinks, the readiest solution of the problem 
of Devonshire is to be found. He contends that "the Car- 
boniferous Slate is absolutely contemporaneous with the 
Carboniferous Limestone."* He admits that where, in the 
South-west of Ireland, "the Carboniferous Slate and Carbon- 
iferous Limestone are both present together, the Carboniferous 
Limestone is uppermost ; but that where the Carboniferous 
Limestone has a thickness of 2000 feet or upwards, the dark 
slates between it and the Old Bed Sandstone are very thin, 
rarely more than 200 feet in thickness ; while, where these 
dark slates thicken out to more than 2000 feet, there is no 
great thickness of Carboniferous Limestone over them. 
Where the Carboniferous Slate attains a still greater tliick- 
ness, and swells out to three, four, or five thousand feet, it 
has never any Carboniferous Limestone over it at all ; but 
there appear here and there patches of black slate upon it, 
which, both lithologically and palaeontologically, resemble 
the Coal-measures. If so, the Carboniferous Slate occupies, 
there, the whole interval between the top of the Old Ked 
Sandstone and the base of the Coal-measures, with a per- 
fectly conformable and continuous series of beds to the 
exclusion of the Carboniferous Limestone. Dark grey mud 
and sand were at first deposited over the whole area, but 
were subsequently restricted to a part of it, where they 
continued to be deposited in great quantity; while in the 
rest of the area clear water prevaileid, in which limestone 
was formed from the Crinoids and other animals that flourished 
in that part.'*t Mr. Jukes has carried on his studies of the 
Devonshire rocks almost exclusively in the northern division 
of our county. In his paper, read in August, 18(50, he says, 
"As I shall have to maintain that all the first geologists of 
the day, includinflf Professor Sedgwick, Sir R I. Murchison, 
Mr. Weaver, Sir H. De la Beche, and Professor Phillips, have 
misunderstood the structure of the country, let me hasten to 
avow my belief that nobody, whose observations were con- 
fined to Devon and Someiset, could have arrived at any other 

• " Notes for a Comparison between the Rocks of the South-west of 
Ireland and those of North Devon," p. 5. 1865. 
t Quar. Journ. Geol. Soc, vol. xxil, pages 344-5. 1866. 



f 

MR. pengelly's presidential address. 13 

than their conclusions. I fully admit that the rocks near 
Lynton appear to be the lowest, and that there appears to be 
a regular ascending succession of rocks from Lynton to the 
latitude of Barnstaple. I am, however, compelled to dispute 
the reality of this apparent order of succession, and to sup- 
pose that there is either a concealed anticlinal, with an 
inversion to the north, or, what I believe to be much more 
probable, a concealed fault running nearly east and west 
through the centre of Noi-th Devon, with a large downthrow 
to the north, and that the Lynton beds are on the same 
general horizon as those of Baggy Point and Marwood."* 

After giving minute petralogical, lithological, and palason- 
tological details respecting the deposits under consideration, 
in various localities in this and the adjacent county, Mr. 
Jukes says, "The following are the conclusions, respecting 
the Palaeozoic rocks of North Devon and West Somerset, to 
which my previous experience in Ireland has led me : — 

1st. " There are three areas of Old Red Sandstone — 

(a) "The Quantock Hills. 

(h) " The Porlock, Minehead, and Dunster area. 

(c) " The Morte Bay and Wiveliscombe ridge. 

"These have an irregular anticlinal form The 

Quantock Hills anticlinal is partly concealed on the western 

flank The Porlock, Minehead, and Dunster anticlinal 

has its south-eastern termination tolerably well shown in 
Croydon Hill, but is obscured on the North and North-east. 

The Morte Bay and Wiveliscombe anticlinal has its 

northern arm broken down by a great longitudinal fault 
running along its crest. 

2nd. "Each of these three areas of Old Bed Sandstone 

dips under a great mass of Carboniferous Slate The 

Carboniferous Slate of the two northern areas, that spreading 
S.E. from the Quantock Hills, and that sti-etching through 
Exmoor Forest to Morte Point, is thrown into numerous 
undulations, and thus spreads over wider spaces than it would 
otherwise occupy. The beds of the southern area, running 
from the country south of Wiveliscombe to Baggy Point, 
have a much more steady strike, and dip at a higher angle to 
the south, .... and therefore soon become covered by the 
Coal-measures. 

3rd. "These three groups — the Coal-measures, the Car- 
boniferous Slate, and the Old Bed Sandstone to the south of 
the Bristol Channel, are contemporaneous with the three 

* Qtiar. Joum. G«oL Soc., vol xxiL, p. 321. 1866. 



14 MR. pengelly's presidential address. 

groups —the Coal-measures, the Carboniferous Limestone, and 
the Old Red Sandstone to the north of the Bristol Channel."* 

So far as it affects our own county, this new doctrine, on 
which I have dwelt at some length, amounts to this : The 
rocks at the Foreland Point are Old Red Sandstones, having 
over them Carboniferous Slates, which, with numerous undu- 
lations, are continued from Lynton to near the central shores 
of Morte Bay. Here there occurs a gigantic fault running 
a little south of east to Wiveliscombe, and bringing to the 
surface, along that line, the Foreland Old Red Standstones, 
which, before reaching Baggy Point, are again overlaid with 
Carboniferous Slates. These Slates, in their turn, dip, at 
Barnstaple, southwards under the Carboniferous beds or 
Coal-measures. 

As previously stated, this unqualified disbelief of accepted 
opinions has called forth a reply. Mr. Etheridge, in April 
last (1867), read to the Geological Society a paper " On the 
Physical Structure of North Devon, and on the Paloeonto- 
logical Value of Devonian Fossils,*' in which "the Lower, 
Middle, and Upper groups of sandstones and shales were 
described as occurring in a regular and unbroken succession 
from north to south; namely, from the sandstones com- 
prising the promontory of the Foreland at the base, to the 
grits and slates, etc., overlying the Upper Old Red Sandstone 
of Pickwell Down to the south. The author was unable to 
see any traces of a fault of sufficient magnitude to invert 
the order of succession, or that would cause the rocks of the 
Foreland at Lynton to be upon the same horizon as those 
south of a line of high ground that passes across the county 
from Morte Bay on the west, to Wiveliscombe on the east. 

Arguments were also brought forward to show the 

probability of the Carboniferous Slate (in part) .... being 
the equivalent of the English Upper Old Red Sandstone, or 
Upper Devonian, and that the North Devon beds only are to 
be regarded as the true type, to which the Irish must be 

compared, and not vice versd. The author compared 

the whole of the Devonian fauna of Britain with that of the 

Rhine, Belgium, and France, the result being the 

conclusion that the marine Devonian series, as a whole, con- 
stitutes an important and definite system.**t 

This contrariety of opinion manifested by two distinguished 
officers of the Geological Survey, very forcibly brings before 

* ''Additional Notes on the Groupin^ir of the Rocks of North Devon 
and West Somerset,** ^ges 13, 14. 1867. 
t Geological Magazine, vol. iv., pp. 272-a 1867. 



MR. PENGELLT'S PEESIDENTUL ADDRESS. 15 

US the fact of the complexity of the oldest group of rocks in 
Devonshire, and the consequent difficulty, I had almost said 
pleasui-e, attending their study. We proceed now to the 
Second group. 

Those great deposits known as the Culmiferous beds of 
Devonshire, and which, with the granites, occupy almost 
the entire county from the parallel of Barnstaple to that of 
Tavistock, are admitted on all hands to be the equivalents 
of the Coal -Measures; but, unfortunately for the mining 
and manufacturing aspirations of Devonshire, the mineral 
fuel so richly stored up in contemporary deposits in South 
Wales and other parts of Britain, does not exist here. Its 
presence would have changed our beautiful county into a 
busy black country, and would also have changed our character 
and history. The economic value of the culmiferous beds is 
probably not considerable, and cliiefly consists of, what may 
be regarded as exceptional, masses of limestone, which have 
been worked under comparatively great disadvantages, and 
for a very lengthened period, as is well seen in the enormous 
quarries, and gigantic accumulations of refuse matter, at 
South Tawton, Bampton, and Westleigh. 

Probably in none of the Devonshire formations are there 
to be seen contortions so numerous and on so grand a scale 
as in our equivalents of the Coal -Measures. They are 
strikingly displayed in the limestone quarries just mentioned, 
but perhaps their grandest development occurs in the clitt 
sections near Hartland quay. "No words," say Sedgwick 
and Murchison, " can exaggerate the number and violence of 
these contortions — sometimes in regular undulating curves — 
sometimes in curves broken at their points of contrary flexure, 
and exhibiting a succession of cusps, like regular- pointed 
arches — sometimes, though more rarely, thrown into salient 
and re-entering angles, generally of local extent and only 
affecting particular beds."* 

The grits of this group are traversed by numerous well- 
defined joints, giving them a tendency to break up into 
rhombohedrons, or, indeed, almost into cubes. On the sea- 
beach these blocks are soon converted by the waves into the 
spheroidal boulders and pebbles which everywhere line the 
cliffs from which they fell and reach their most striking, 
though by no means an unusual, phase in the Pebble ridge 
at Northam Burrows. 

It is obvious that many of our Greenstone Traps are of 

* Trans. GeoL Soc. Series 2, vol v., part 3, p. 677. 1837. 



16 MR. PENGELLY*S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 

Devonian and Carboniferous age, since, either in the form of 
compact Greenstone or in that of a Greenstone- Ash, they are 
found in several instances interstratified with the Devonian 
and Carboniferous beds. Moreover, in some cases the Ashes 
contain well-known Devonian fossils: thus the Trap Ash 
flanking the Greenstone of Knowle's Hill, Newton Bushel, 
contains a large number of specimens of the Devonian 
triolobite, Phacops (TrimerocepJuUm) Icevis, — well known in 
continental Europe, but not found elsewhere in Britain. So 
far as this country is concerned, there is but one locality for 
the fossil, and one fossil for the locality. 

It may be doubted, however, whether some of the Green- 
stones of this county are not considerably more modem. 

Until somewhat recently, it was difficult to determine 
whether the Granites of Dartmoor, or the Bed Sandstones, 
Conglomerates, and Marls, which give so marked a character 
to eastern and south-eastern Devonshire, were the more 
modem. Many of us remember that phase of opinion re- 
specting granite, which would have deterred many persons 
from publicly asking a question respecting its age in relation 
to that of other rocks. Persons well inform^ on geology 
were wont to speak of it as the "backbone of the earth," 
the "nucleus of the world," "the prime^ry rock," the repre- 
sentative of the first dawn of order, before which was chaos. 
Happily, the question may now be asked, and in many cases 
answered. 

Granites are neither necessarily of primary age, nor do the 
different kinds belong as a matter of course to any one and 
the same period. Even within our own Dartmoor there are 
three kinds, and they are by no means contemporaries. 
Upwards of a quarter of a century ago, Mr. Godwin -Austen 
conclusively showed that our Porphyritic granite is more 
modern than that which is Schorlaceous, and more ancient 
than the variety known as Elvan : it cuts through the first 
in dyke-like forms, and is itself similarly traversed by the 
last. He also pointed out that the oldest or Schorlaceous 
granite is more modem than the Carboniferous rocks in con- 
tact with it, since it passes into them in the form of veins.* 

From what has been already stated, it follows that all our 
granites are more modem than, at least, many of our Horn- 
blendic Traps or Greenstones. On this point, moreover, there 
is independent evidence which, if not in itself perfectly con- 
clusive, is strongly confirmatory. A glance at a geological 

* Trans. Geol. Soc. Series 2^ voL vL, part 2, p. 477. 



MR. pengellt's pbesidentul address. 17 

map of Devonshire shows that bands of Greenstone skirt^ 
but do not enter, the Granites of Dartmoor, and thus sucgest 
the idea that they are of higher antiquity than, and have 
been cut ofT and thrust out of their original position by, the 
granitic mass.* 

Here, then, we are furnished with a chronological limit for 
the Granites on the side of antiquity: they are all more 
modem than the Carboniferous period. 

It is not quite so easy to determine a limit on the modern 
side. The Devonian and Carboniferous rocks surrounding 
Dartmoor are bent and contorted ; and where the Red Sand- 
stones and Conglomerates rest on them, they lie unconform- 
ably on the upturned ends of the disturbed beds. It is 
obvious, therefore, that the red rocks ai*e more modern than 
the era of the disturbance of the Carboniferous deposits. 
Now this disturbance is usually, and perhaps correctly, 
ascribed to the intrusion of the Granite; hence, on this 
hypothesis, the Granites must be older than the red rocks : 
the age of these, therefore, is the modem limit of the chro- 
nology of those. Some geologists, however, were by no means 
satisfied with this view, and argued that, whereas conglom- 
erates are natural museums in which specimens of all the 
pre-existing rocks of the district may with some confidence 
be looked for, any rock now existing in the locality may \m 
regarded as more modern than the conglomerates, to which it 
has sent no fragments to ivpresent it Applying this negative 
test to the case before us, Mr. Godwin- Austen remarked, that 
'* as no granite pebbles have been found amongst the various 
materials of which the new red conglomerate is composed, 
we may conclude that at the period of its accumulation the 
granite of Dartmoor could not have been exposed, particularly 
when we be<ir in mind that the two formations are at present 
separated only by the valley of the Teign.*'f 

This scepticism, though in a less pronounced form, was not 
without a place in the mind of the late Sir H. De la Beche. 
"The evidence," he says, "of the Dartmoor granite having 
occupied its present relative position anterior to the early 
part of the (new) red sandstone is not always so clear as 
could be desired ; for, among all the pebbles of the red con- 
glomerate extending fi*om Torbay to Exeter, we have not 
been able to detect any portions of it, though the granite 
ranges so near that part of the red conglomerate. In the 

♦ Seo Sir H. De 1a Beche's Report, p. 122. 1839. 
t Tnins. Geol. Soc. Series 2, vol. vi., part 2, p. 478. 1840. 
VOL. II. C 



18 MR. P£NG£LLY*8 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 

tongue of red sandstone and conglomerate which runs from 
Crediton amid the Carbonaceous series by North Tawton and 
Sampford Courtney to Jacobstow, we have, however, detected 
pebbles like some varieties of Dartmoor granite.* In a more 
recent work, the same author, speaking of those pebbles, uses 
the following more confident language : ''Among the pebbles 
of the new red sandstone conglomerates nearest to Dartmoor, 
granite from it is scarce, some varieties having been only 
found on the north, by Tawton and Sampford Courtney."! 

Before passing from this subject it may be well to remark, 
that it is by no means inconsistent to hold, on the one hand, 
tliat the contortions in the Carboniferous rocks were produced 
by the intrusion of the Granite before the era of the Con- 
glomerates ; and, on the other, that the Granite was not yet 
exposed at the surface, and therefore could not contribute a 
fragment to the mass of the Conglomerates during the era 
when they were in process of being built up. Granite 
having never been formed at the surface, but being a Plutonic 
or hypogene rock, must have come into existence and pro- 
duced eJl the mechanical and chemical changes of which it 
was capable very long before denudation, by stripping off 
the rocks which had necessarily overlain it» had laid it bare 
at the earth's surface. 

The question of the exposure of the granite before the 
commencement of the Sed-rock era was finally disposed of, 
howevei, in 1861, when Mr. Vicary detected pebbles of each 
of the three kinds of granite in the Bed Conglomerate at the 
base of Haldon,! and thereby enabled us to state that the 
oldest Granite of Dartmoor — the Schorlaceous variety — is 
post-Carboniferous ; that the moat modem — the Elvan — was 
exposed to the wear and tear of wave and atmosphere prior 
to the formation of the Bed ixxjks ; and that the interval of 
time separating the Sandstones and Conglomerates from the 
Culmiferous formation — between which there are no stratified 
formations in our county — must have been of immense du- 
ration. 

The last of these statements will be found to be of great 
service in the attempt which next awaits us — that of endea- 
vouring to form an opinion respecting the place of the Bed 
Sandstones, Conglomerates, and Marls in the chronological 
scheme of the geologist. In following the fine cliff sections from 
Torbay to the confines of Dorsetshire — upwaixis of 20 miles 

♦ "Report," p. 166. 1839. 

t Mem. Geol. Survey, vol. L, p. 288. 1846. 

X Trans. Devonshire ABSociaiion for 1862, p. 61. 



MR. pkngellt's presidential address. 19 

— ^the geologist encounters lithological and petralogical phe- 
nomena only: the red rocks are not known to have yielded a 
single eonUmporary fossil. Many of the incorporated pebbles 
are richly fossiliferous, but their contents are the remains of 
the oiganisms which tenanted the world in those much earlier 
periods when the parent rocks were formed. There is no 
palseontological information respecting the age of the red 
deposits. A little beyond the mouth of the Axe, however, 
they are distinctly seen to underlie, and therefore to be older 
than, the Lias — ^the basement division of the great Jurassic 
system ; hence they belong to the interval between the close 
of the Carboniferous and the commencement of the Jurassic 
periods. 

In this enormous space of time two great systems of 
rocks, the Permian and Triassic, were deposited ; but the 
periods they represent by no means filled the interval, since 
the former is separated by a hiatus from the Carboniferous 
rocks below, and by another from the Triassic series above ; — 
these gaps being represented by intermediate denudations, 
stratigraphical uQconformabilities, and such specific and even 
generic changes in the fossils as betoken great breaks in the 
continuity of the life-history of our planet. Between the 
Trias and the formation next above it, there is no known 
evidence of a physical break ; nevertheless, the change in the 
fossil contents of the two systems is so very marked and 
decided, as to render it highly probable that here too there 
was a large amount of time, of which there is now no repre- 
sentative.* 

I have thought it desirable thus to dwell on the itmount 
of time which certainly separated the Carboniferous and 
Jurassic periods, in order to the full appreciation and evalua- 
tion of the nature of the argument by which it appears to 
me possible to answer the question, " To which of the two 
intermediate systems do the red rocks of Devonshire belong 
— the Permian or the Trias?'* 

Many geologists have been struck with the fact, that most 
of the so-callea Red Conglomerates are n)ore correctly breccias, 
being made up of angular and sub-angular rather than of well 
rounded fragments ; that they have the aspect of the Per- 
mian rather than of the Triassic system : but let it bo borne 
in mind that at the close of the Carboniferous period there 
was no Dartmoor granite ; that, after this era, the Shorlaceous, 
or oldest granite, was formed far below the surface of the 

♦ See Prof. Ramsay's Presidential Addresses to the Geological Society 
of LoDdon in 1863-64. Qnar. Joum. Oeol. Soc. 

C 2 



20 MR. pengelly's pkesidkntial address. 

earth — a product of the combined action of heat, water, and 
pressure ; that this, having cooled into a firm coherent mass, 
— necessarily an extremely slow process, — was riven in 
different places ; that a second mass— the Porphyritic granite 
— was then elaborated under similar physical conditions, and 
portions of it lodged in the fissures which had been formed 
in the first or Shorlaceous variety ; that this second Plutonic 
mass cooled like its predecessor, and like it became traversed 
by fissures having firm and well-defined walls ; and that after 
this the Elvan granite was formed, still under the conditions 
essential to the production of a granitoid rock. 

It must be admitted that the elaboration, within the same 
area, of three successive and dissimilar Plutonic formations, 
each of which had, though cooling under enormous pressure, 
become solid and coherent before its successor was produced, 
must have absorbed an incalculable amount of time, and 
must have narrowed by so much that interval between the 
Carboniferous and Jurassic periods during which the Ked 
Sandstone and associated rocks were deposited 

Nor is this all. The three kinds of granite were not only 
in existence, but they were all laid bai*e before the com- 
mencement of the Conglomerate era. Granite can never be 
formed at the surface of the earth. Pressure is indispens- 
able for its production. It is nether formed: elaborated 
under thick overlying masses of rock, which denudation 
has to strip off before its exposure is possible. This had 
been done in what is now Devonshire before the accumulation 
of the Conglomerates at the base of Haldon, for in them 
Mr. Vicary found rolled fragments of the three varieties of 
Dartmoor granite. Convulsion could have lent little or no 
assistance here. It did not thrust the granites in a solid 
state through the surrounding and overlying rocks. What- 
ever movements it underwent, they underwent the same ; for 
the veins it has sent into the surrounding strata are not 
severed from, but are prolongations of, the great central mass.* 
The work was achieved by denudation only. The time requi- 
site for it must have been enormous, and drives us still further 
towards the Jurassic mai^n of that interval in which our 
Red rocks were certainly deposited. The more these facts and 
considerations are allowed to have a place in the mind, the 
more impossible does it appear that our Red Sandstones, 
Conglomerates, and Marls can be of higher than Triassic 
antiquity. 

* Sedgwick and MarduBon in Trans. GeoL Soa Series 2, vol. v., 
part 3, page 686. 



MB. pengelly's pbesidential address. 21 

The typical Trias, as its name implies, is divided into three 
great groups, which in descending order are : — 

The Keuper. 

The Muschelkalk. 

The Banter. 
Of these, the first and last only exist in this country: Britain 
is not known to contain any rock of the age of the Mus- 
chelkalk. We have now to consider to which of these 
divisions the Devonshire beds belong. There can be no 
doubt that the portion of the formation extending from 
Exmouth eastward belongs to the Keuper, or Upper Trias. 
The dip of the beds continues in the same direction, the 
amount is no where considerable and gradually diminishes 
eastward, and there is certainly no important fault. Beyond 
Axmouth the red colours gradually fade out, and the beds 
here and there assume liassic hues. At length, capped with 
the fiamous " Bone bed " — a point of departure as well known 
and as well defined to the geologist, as is the Lizard Point to 
the voyager — tliey pass conformably under the Lias. As to 
the age of this portion of the Red rocks th(»re is no difficulty 
whatever : they are most unmistakably the Keuper, or Upper 
Trias. Between Exmouth and Torbay the characters are 
different : Marls are much less, and Conglomerates are more 
abundant, and the prevalent opinion, no doubt, is that this 
pait of the system belongs to the Bunter, or Lower Trias. If 
this be so, there should be, near Exmouth, a physical break 
in the formation, and its proved absence would at least go far 
to falsify the current belief It is true that the beds north of 
the Exe dip more easterly than do those south of it, but it 
appears to be impossible to show where a change begins, or 
that it is anything more than one of a very graduated cha- 
racter. For myself, after a careful and prolonged study of it, 
I incline to the opinion that our entire Red formation belongs 
to the Keuper ; or, if not, that all three sub-periods of the 
Trias are represented in Devonshira Though the enormous 
thickness of the formation in this county gives some sort of 
support to this latter hypothesis, it is undoubtedly much 
more unlikely as well as more heretical than the former. 

In 1865, Mr. Vicary, calling attention to the Feldspathic 
Traps of Devonshire, stated, on good evidence, that "their 
earliest eruptions occurred between the close of the Carbon- 
iferous and the commencement of the Triassic eras, and that 
later outbursts of them were of Triassic age."* 

♦ Trans. Devonshire Association, 1865, page 49. 



22 MR. pengelly's presidential address. 

The lias occupies but a small strip of our county, and 
there is so little room for controversy respecting it, that it 
requires no more than a passing mention in a general sketch 
like the present. 

The Cretaceous System is usually divided into two groups 
— Lower and Upper. The latter alone exists in Devonshire, 
and is represented by the so-called Greensands of Blackdown 
and elsewhere, and the Chalk so well developed in the Beer 
district 

The Blackdown beds are rich in fossils, many of which 
have not been found elsewhere. Though these beds resemble 
the "Upper Greensand" of geologists, the late Mr. D. 
Sharpe was of opinion that they were somewhat older, and 
rather the equivalents of the Guult, of which a good example 
occurs at Folkstone in Kent, and which forms the lowest 
division of the Upper Cretaceous group. Mr. Sharpe sug- 
gested "that the Blackdown sand was the littoral deposit of 
the ocean at the time that the Gault was formed at its lower 
depths."* 

It may be doubted whether all the localities so represented 
in the maps of the Geological Survey are really true Green- 
sand locaUties. For example, it is, at leasts difficult to find 
any beds of this age or character at Woodbury Common, 
near Exmouth, or at Orleigh Court, near Bideford. In each 
of these districts there is a Supracretaceous gravel, rich in 
flint and other Cretaceous debris, but probably nothing more. 

The Chalks of our county may be well studied in the 
fine cliffs and quarries at and near Beer. The latter must 
have been worked for both building stone and for lime 
during a very long period. 

The Devonshire deposit next more modern than the chalk 
appears to be the remarkable formation which occupies 
the basins of the Bovey and Teign rivers, from Bovey Tracey 
to Newton, and extends thence to Aller, about three and a 
half miles north-west of Torquay. It consists of beds of 
lignite, clay, and sand, and has an aggregate thickness of 
upwards of 100 feet. The Lignite appears to have been 
worked for fuel as early as about the year 1714. From 
1760, when it first attracted the attention of scientific men, 
to 1856, it was the theme of various papers laid before the 
principal scientific societies in the kingdom, and it occupied 
a conspicuous place in several works of a more general 
character. Prior to 1860, there seems to have been a settled 

♦ Qnar. Jour. GooL Soc., vol. x., pp. 186-7. 1863. 



MR. pengelly's presidential address. 23 

conviction that the lignite was of v^table origin; that the 
clays and sands were furnished by the disintegration of the 
granite on the adjacent heights of Dartmoor ; and that the 
deposit was of Caenozoic age. It may be added that there 
was a general belief that the plants had not grown on, but 
bad been transported to, the area now occupied by the lignite; 
that the formation was of very modern age, possibly post- 
Pliocene ; and that the beds were singularly poor in fossils — 
no more, at most> than two species of plants having been met 
with. In 1860, a thorough investigation of the formation 
was undertaken at the instance of Miss Burdeit Coutts, who, 
with characteristic munificence, supplied the necessary means. 
At the end of six months, there had been found an enonnous 
number of fossil plants, belonging, according to Professor 
Heer, of Zurich, to fifty species, of which forty-nine were 
new to the fossil flora of this country, twenty-six were new to 
science, nineteen were well-known Miocene forms of conti- 
nental Europe, five were of doubtful determination, but 
probably Miocene, and the new species were closely allied to 
well-known forms in the same system. The fossils showed 
not only that the Bovey formation belongs to the Miocene 
series of deposits, but that its place is in the Lower of the 
two great divisions into which geologists find it necessary 
to divide that system. They showed also that the Bovey and 
Teign rivers were in existence in pre-Miocene times, and 
were the feeders of a considerable and deep lake, into which 
tliey carried feldspathic clay and quartzose sand from Dart- 
moor, as well as the prostrated sub-tropical trees which had 
grown on the surrounding heights. 

The determination of the age of this formation is the more 
interesting, as before it was arrived at our best geological 
text books either directly stated, or strongly inclined to the 
opinion, that England contained no rock of Miocene aga 
Indeed, it still remains to be a fact, that in the British Isles 
there are no known Upper Miocene deposits. 

It may be stated, in passing, that, with the exception of 
the partly-destroyed elytron of a beetle (Buprestitea Falconen), 
no animal remains have been met with in the Bovey beds. 

This Lignitic series is unconformably overlain by a thick 
accumulation, or "Head" of sand, coarse clay, and stones, 
most of which are angular or sub-angular. From the great 
dissimilarity of its character to that of the underlying beds, 
from the unconformability of the two, and from the facts that 
the Lignitic series had been faulted to the extent of at least 
100 feet, and that the "Head" did not participate in, or 



24 MR. pengelly's presidential address. 

contain any indication of this dislocation, it is obvious that 
the latter is much more modem than the former. The 
•' Head" is found at heights considerably above that which it 
occupies on the Bovey plain, and there is reason to believe 
that denudation has, at least, in some places swept away 
much of its former voluma On its denuded surface there 
are, here and there on Bovey Heathfield, found patches of 
fine potter's clay, in which the clay diggers occasionally meet 
with stumps and roots of trees, the latter so ramifying as to 
indicate that they are in situ. In addition to those remains, 
leaves have occasionally been met with, from which the 
dwarf birch (Betula nana) and three species of willow {Salix 
einerea, S. repens, and S. amygdalina) have been determined. 
These plants betoken a climate much colder than that which 
at present obtains in Devonshire. Indeed, the little birch is 
an Arctic plant, which has at present no British habitat 
south of Scotland, and which occurs in mid-Europe only on 
mountains and sub- Alpine peat-mosses. 

At this point I find myself in danger of entering on a 
discussion of the complex phenomena of the Superficial 
gravels of Devonshire. I resist the temptation, because the 
subject is vast in itself as well as in its ramifications, and 
requires to be worked out in great detail ; and also because 
very little is known about it. It is the work of at least a 
well-spent life-time, and it has scarcely been begun. I must 
content myself with but two remarks : — 1st. It almost seems 
that geological phenomena are difficult of explication in pro- 
portion as they are recent 2nd. It is probable that the Super- 
ficial gravels of our county, though all of them geologically 
very modern, belong to widely different periods. Even the 
alluvial mass occupying the same river plain is not neces- 
sarily one strictly contemporary deposit. Rivers are con- 
stantly changing their courses : here they encroach, and there 
they are encroached upon ; rather, they shut themselves 
out. 

An instructive instance of this action was observed by Mr. 
Vicary and myself, during the summer of 1866. The little 
river Lew flows, at Hatherleigh in this county, through a 
small alluvial plain, on which there are several fine trees. 
One of them, a splendid oak, fully three feet in diameter, 
stood on the right bank of, and very near the river. Its 
dimensions proved that the soil in which it had grown had 
remained undisturbed for a very lengthened period. The 
river, however, had for some time been slowly encroaching on 
its site, and doubtless had thereby diminished its stability. 



MR. FENGELLT'S PB£SIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 25 

Shortly before our visit, a storm of great violence had pros- 
trated the noble tree, and had thrown it obliquely across the 
stream, which it had thei-eby deflected. That part of the 
bank against which the cnrrent was thus directed, had 
gradually yielded until a large bight was produced, and the 
blackened tmnk of a fine oak, fully as large as that just 
mentioned, was disclosed. Its history, no doubt, was simply 
this : It had grown on the plain, had been prostrated into the 
stream, and had been silted up. The disinterred trunk in its 
turn became an obstacle in the way of the river, especially 
when not very full. Silt and other matter had begun again 
to accumulate around it, and amongst the materials lodged 
by it, we found an old tin kettle and part of a black bottle. 
The work of re-interment is probably completed ere this, and 
unless the geologists who observe its next exposure are fully 
impressed with the fact that different psirts of the same 
alluvial plain, and, indeed, that objects found in the same 
part of a plain, may belong to different ages, they will be in 
danger of concluding that the old oak was prostrated when 
tin kettles and wine bottles were in use ; they will assign too 
modem an age to the tree, or one too ancient to the works of 
art ; and may be led to speculate on the reasons which led a 
people, so advanced in the arts of life, to neglect an article so 
valuable as a large oak tree. 

Raised Beaches are found here and there along our entire 
sea-bord, and Submerged Forests are just as numerous, and 
as widely distributed. I shall assume, what indeed every 
geologist admits, that changes of i-elative level of sea and 
land are, at least, mainly due, not to changes in the level 
of the sea, but to movements in the land. The facts pre- 
sented by the Raised Beaches show a wide-spread elevation 
of the land to the amount of from 20 to 30 feet, whilst the 
forest phenomena indicate an equally general subsidence to 
the extent of at least 40 feet. It is somewhat difficult to 
determine the relative ages of tjie beaches, the Betula nana 
beds at Bovey, and the forests ; but I have no doubt that the 
betula clay is the most ancient, and the forests the most 
modem of the three. The dwarf birch takes us back to a 
climate much colder than the present ; back apparently quite 
to the modern verge of the Glacial era. This the beaches and 
forests fail to do. The former are replete with shells, but all 
of them are the remains of species still existing in the 
adjacent waters. It is a well-established fact, however, that 
during the glacial conditions our waters were tenanted by 
moilusks now found only in Arctic seas. The vegetable 



26 MR. pengellt's presidential address. 

remains found in the forests too, are those of such plants as 
now occupy the adjacent dry land. 

The forests and beaches cannot be contemporary. The 
same district cannot be thirty feet lower and forty feet higher 
at one and the same tima The forests occupy the tidal 
strand, extend seaward to at least the five fathoms line, and 
up the valleys landward until they attcdn at least an equal 
height above meantide. If they had been older than the 
beaches, they must, during the era of the latter, have been 
30 feet lower still than they are at present, and much of 
their present sub-aerial prolongations must then have been 
submarine, and, in all probability, would have had deposited 
on them marine beds coeval with the beaches; but in no 
instance are the sub-aerial portions of the forests overlain by 
marine deposits beyond the reach of the waves at the existing 
level Landward of this line, the forests are commonly 
covered; but it is invariably with fine soil, without any 
indication of the presence or action of the sea. 

There are, however, apparently two objections to this 
modern age of the Forests in relation to the Beaches. First, 
The former have yielded a considerable number of bones of 
Mammalia, of which two are extinct species — the Mammoth 
(JElephas primigevius), and the Long-fronted Ox {Bos longi- 
frons) ; — whilst, as has been already stated, the shells found 
in the Beaches are the remains of species still existing in 
the adjacent sea. In other words, the Forests do, but the 
Beaches do not, carry us back to the times of extinct animals. 
Second, From the well-known evidence found in Siberia, the 
Mammoth was adapted to, and, no doubt, lived in, a cold 
climate. 

With regard to the first, it should be remembered that the 
" Life of a Species" is by no means a chronological constant, 
but that its length appears to be an inverse function of the 
complexity of the organic structure : the lowlier the organi- 
sation, the greater the duration of the species. We are 
therefore, taken vastly further into antiquity by existing 
MoUusks than by existing Mammals, and, consequently, the 
shells found in the Beaches go far into the period of the 
extinct Mammalia. 

That the Mammoths of Siberia were, by their dermal 
covering, adapted to an arctic climate, there can be no 
manner of doubt; but it by no means follows that their 
kindred were similarly clad at all times and in all stations. 
"In Siberia," says Dr. Falconer, when speaking of the 
Mammoth, " he was enveloped in a shaggy thick covering of 



MK. PKKGELLT'S presidential ADDIlESa. 27 

fur, like the Mask Ox, impenetrable to rain or cold. But we 
are not obliged to suppose that in his sonthem habitat he 
was thus clacL The dermal appendages are very variable 
and adaptive, according to climate. The fine silky fleece, 
from which the Gashnieer shawls are wove, is abundantly 
devel(^)ed at the roots of the long hairs of the domestic Goat 
in the plains of Tibet, at, and upwards of 16,000 feet above 
the level of the sea, where a highly rarefied atmosphere is 
combined with severe winter cold. It grows also on the 
Kiang, the Yak, Gervm WalUchii, the Brown Bear of high 
elevations in the Himalaya, and on the Mastiff Dog of Tibet. 
But it disappears entirely from the same Goat, and from the 
Dog; in the valley of Cashmeer. The short crisp wool of 
the Siberian Mammoth, which seems to have been the most 
protective portion of his fur, may, in like manner, have dis- 
appeared from the variety that lived in the valley of the 
liber, while the bristles and long coarse hair were more or 
less retained ; and it is in the highest degree probable that 
the species presented varieties of external form, dependent 
on the nature of the dermal clothing, far exceeding those 
which are seen in existing elephants."* 

The limestones so largely developed in South Devon 
abound in Ossiferous Caverns, of which the most remarkable 
are those at Oreston near Plymouth, Yealmpton, and the 
Torbay district. In the last-named locality, Kent's Cavnrn, 
about a mile eastward from Torquay harbour, and Windmill 
Hill Cavern at Brixham, on the opposite or southern shore 
of the bay, are the most famous. There is no tradition even 
of the discovery of Kent's Hole, and it seems to have been 
known from time immemorial. To say nothing of earlier 
times at pi^esent* there is abundant evidence that it was 
much used by man during the Romano-British period ; there 
are indications of his presence in it in the early part of the 
15th century ; if inscriptions on an undisturbed mass of 
stalagmite in one of its chambers be trustworthy, it was 
visited during the eventful year of 1688; and towards the 
close of the last century it was one of the celebrated spots 
of the district.! To the palaeontologist it is of the highest 
interest on account of the very numerous remains of extinct 
mammals, which have been found in the red loam beneath 
the thick stalagmite, which originally formed the continuous 
floor of all its chambers and galleries. That, however, which 
has made it so famous, is the fact that numerous human 

♦ Nat Hist. Rev. for 1863, pages 112-3. 

t Maion*8 " Observations on the Western Counties." 



28 MR. pengelly's peesidentul address. 

iuiplements, fashioned in flint, have been found mixed up 
with the^e relics of extinct organisms. 

These discoveries appear to have been first made by the late 
Eev. J. M'Enery, from 1825 to *29. They were confirmed by 
the subseiiuent researches of Mr. Godwin-Austen prior to 
1840, and by those of the Torquay Natural History Society 
in 1846; but, notwithstanding the concurrent testimony of 
these independent aiid competent observers, even the scientific 
world was quite unprepared for the reception of the fact. 
The human origin of the "implements" does not appear to 
have been questioned by any one ; and it was seen that their 
original inosculation with the bones amongst which they 
were found could not be received as a fact, without admitting 
also the contemporaneity of man and the extinct cave mam- 
mals. Accordingly, this inosculation was denied. It was 
alleged that either the explorations had not been conducted 
with sufficient care, or that some grave mistake had been 
made. It is hoped that it is not uncharitable to ask, "Did 
not the difficulty really arise from a foregone conclusion on 
the question of Human Antiquity V 

In 1858, the Windmill Hill Cavern, at Brixham, was dis- 
covered, and passed at once and intact into the hands of an 
exploring committee, appointed under the auspices of the 
Royal and Geological Societies. The Cavern, being a small 
one, was thoroughly investigated in one year, and the explo- 
mtion was carried on with a scrupulous care that rendered it 
impossible to decline the acceptance of whatever facts might 
be discovered. The result of the researches was the simple 
confirmation of the Kent*s Hole discoveries. The flint tools 
of man were found unmistakably mixed up with the remains 
of the cave mammalia, and it was generally admitted " that 
scepticism in regard to the bearing of cave evidence in 
favour of the antiquity of Man had previously been pushed 
to an extreme."* 

A desire was at once awakened to explore such parts of 
Kent's Hole as remained intact, and in 1864 the British 
Association appointed a Committe, with ample means at 
their disposal, to make a thorough investigation of this 
famous mausoleum. The work was begun in March 1865, 
it has been carried on without interruption from that time, 
and it is still in progress. 

With two exceptions only, the discoveries recently made 
fully confirm all the statements of the early explorers. The 

♦ Lyell'B " Antiquity of Mau," page 2. 1863. 



MR. PENGELLY*S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 29 

exceptions are, that up to the present time the British 
Association Committee have not found the remains of Hippo- 
potamus major or Maehairodus latidens — both of which 
were met with by Mr. M* Enery. To this extent the modem 
evidence is at present defective ; but there is nothing con- 
flicting. 

Tlie Committee are by no means unmindful of the fact 
that deposits and objects of different ei-as are just as likely to 
be commingled in a cavern as in a river plain. But, whatever 
anachronisms may have been potted up in the red cave-loam, 
the most modem object it contains must of necessity be older 
than the most ancient part of the cake of stalagmite which 
rests upon it and hermetically seals it up. This floor was 
necessarily formed on the loam, and therefore after its deposi- 
tion. But both in Kent's and Brixham Caverns the flint tools 
occurred at all known depths in the loam, whilst bones and 
teeth of the extinct mammals were found not only in the 
loam, but also in the stalagmite floor. The only possible 
mode of now escaping from the conclusion that man was 
the contemporary of animals no longer existing anywhere in 
the world, is simply to deny the human origin of the so-called 
" implements." 

Waiving this question at present, the point we have reached 
is plainly this : man lived earlier, or the extinct animals 
later, than has been commonly believed, or both. When, 
however, we reflect on the probable causes of extinction, it 
seems impossible to suppose that so uiany species of animals 
should have utterly disappeared from the earth's surface 
within anything but an enormous period of time. Their 
extinction cannot, at least, in all cases have been due to man, 
since some of them are of small size. The Lagomys spelcm, 
or Cave Pika, or tail-less hare, was scarcely so large as a rat, 
in the extermination of which man has not been very suc- 
cessful. 

The physical facts connected with Brixham Cavern appear 
to be equally conclusive on a great lapse of time. In the 
cave-loam, mixed up with the implements and bones, were 
numerous well-rolled fragments of different kinds of rock, 
which could neither have been derived from the insulated 
limestone hill in which the cave occurs, nor transported to it 
by natural causes with even a distant approach to the existing 
depths of the adjacent valleys. In short, the deposition of 
the cavern materials is older than the valley immediately 
beneath it. The evidence thus gTven by the diaracter of the 
materials is confirmed by their arrangement^ which was such 



30 MB. PENGELLY*S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 

as to show that it was due to the action of a small stream 
flowing persistently through the cave. In other words, that 
such a stream as now flows through the valley, then flowed 
in the same direction on what was the bottom of the same 
valley, but which was at about 100 feet higher leveL 

It is not improbable, however, that this valley, since the 
advent of man in Devonshire, has been deepened to the extent 
just named, not by a primary excavation through the lime- 
stone of the district, but by the removal of debris which had 
filled up a pre-existing valley — in fact by a re-excavation. 
Be this as it may, the process of lowering the bed of the 
stream was obviously slow, for the cavern had been twice 
filled with detritus, each of these accumulations had been 
sealed up with a thick floor of stalagmite, and twice the 
whole had been broken up and swept out by natural causes 
before the introduction of those deposits found in it intact 
in 1858. Yet, during all these processes and changes, the 
bottom of the adjacent valley must have retained the same 
relative level. The physical and palseontological evidence 
are independent and concurrent : they jointly and severally 
testify to the long Antiquity of Man in Devonshire. 

To suppose, however, that the cavern era was separated 
from the present day by an amount of time no greater than 
that required for the re-excavation of the valley — great as 
that probably was — is to fall very far short of the truth. 
Until it was excluded artificially, the sea at spring-tide 
high -water flowed up this valley, the bottom of which was 
occupied by a portion of the Torbay Submerged Forest. As 
elsewhere, the forestial remains were lodged in a thick mass 
of blue clay. Hence, since the dose of the work of excava- 
tion there were, Ist, The lodgment of the clay; 2nd, The 
growth of the forest, the era of which was prior to the ex- 
tinction of the Mammoth ; 3rd, The subsidence of the entire 
country to at least the depth of forty feet; and 4th, The 
subsequent formation of a foreshore, by the retreat of the 
cliffs before the breakers, and which in some cases is fully a 
quarter of a mile in breadth. 

It may be doubted whether in discussions and speculations 
respecting the flint evidence of human antiquity, sufficient 
care has at all times been taken to distinguish between 
"implements" and "flakes" — the articles intended to be 
made, and the chips produced in making them — the end and 
the means. This is the more to be regretted, as, through it, 
many persons have been led to suppose that the doctrine of 
man's antiquity would stand or fall according as the "flakes " 



Ma. PENGELLY'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 31 

were proved to be artificial or natural " There is," says Mr. 
Evans, '' a considerable resemblance between the flint flakes 
apparently intended for arrow heads and knives, .... and 
those which, when found in this country, or on the continent^ 
are regarded as belonging to a period but slightly pre-historia 
The fact is^ that wherever flint is used as a material from 
which implements are fashioned, many of the flakes or 
splinters arising from the chipping of the flint, are certain to 
present sharp points or cutting edges, which, by a race of 
men living principally by the chase are equally certain to be 
regarded as fitting points for their darts or arrows, or as useful 
for cutting purposes : they are so readily formed, and are so 
well adapted for such uses without any further fashioning, 
that they have been employed in all ages just as struck from 
off the flint. The very simplicity of their form will, however, 
prevent those fabricated at the earliest period from being 
distinguishable from those made at the present day, provided 
no change has taken place in the surface of the Hint by long 
exposure to some chemical influence. As also they are 
produced most frequently by a single blow, it is at all times 
difficult, among a mass of flints, to distinguish those flakes 
formed accidently by natural causes from those which are 
made by the hand of man ; an experienced eye will indeed 
arrive at an approximately correct judgment, but from the 
cause I have mentioned, mere flakes of flint, however anala- 
gous to what we know to have been made by human art, can 
never be accepted as conclusive evidence of the work of man, 
unless found in sufficient quantities, or under such circum- 
stances, as to prove design in their formation by their number 
or position."* 

In the spirit of the passage I have just quoted, I should 
have hesitated to commit myself to the doctrine of human 
antiquity on the evidence of flint ''flakes*' merely; but the 
same spirit compels me to accept and avow it when Lanceo- 
late and Ovale "implements'' are found with remains of 
extinct mammals in deposits implying a great lapse of time. 
Moreover, the " implements " give to the ''flukes" a value which 
in their isolation they did not possess. Such flakes nmst 
have been struck off in making implements, and, consisting 
of imperishable material, it would be surprising indeed it 
the latter being found, the former were not found also, and in 
very large numbera. 

The state of society shadowed forth by the implements of 

* <* Archftologia" voL xxxTiiL, psges 10, 11. 18S0. 



32 MR. pengelly's peesidential address. 

the Palaeolithic period was undoubtedly savage. Left to 
themselves, men emerge from a savage condition so very 
slowly as to induce some eminent thinkers to hold that their, 
emergence is impossible. The unpolished implements alone 
then may be held to represent a very protracted period of 
tima In a climate like ours a savage population must be 
necessarily sparse, perhaps scarcely exceeding one person to 
forty square miles. The Ovate implements are edged tools, 
fashioned by the expenditure of much labour and time ; and 
this edge must have been essential to them, or the labour 
would not have been expended in producing it. They appear 
to have been the most important tools of the time, and must 
have been used for a variety of purposes, by some of which, 
at least, the edges would, in no long time, be injured, and 
the tool would have to be re-chipped or a new one made. It 
is well known that the cutlers of the present day, working in 
metal and with all the appliances of modern science, make a 
large number of failures for every edge-tool they can warrant. 
It may be concluded, then, that the Palaeolithic cutlers, 
having to use one stone in order to fashion another into a 
tool, made failures too, perhaps in as great numbers as do 
their modem representatives. Those who have carefully 
examined the ordinary Ovate flint implements are aware that 
on each surface they present a large number of facets, from 
each of which a flake has been struck ; hence each such tool 
represents at least as many imperishable flakes as it bears 
facets. 

Were we, from the foregoing considerations, to speculate 
on the number of flakes which, discovered and undiscovered, 
probably exist in this country, we might proceed thus : Let 
it be supposed that in this island the Paheolithic age was of 
1000 years duration ; that the population was no more than 
one person to forty square miles ; that, including failures in 
making as well as lost and worn out tools, each person re- 
quired one implement per year ; and that each tool was made 
by striking off no more than five flakes on the average. What 
would be the total number of flakes produced ? The area of 
Great Britain is, in round numbers, about 90,000 square 
miles ; hence, on the assumed data, there would be 90,000 x 
1000 X 5 -^ 40 = 11,250,000 = 1^ miUion flakes. I may be 
allowed to remark, that I believe my assumed data are much 
below the truth. It is probable that more than one tool per 
head per annum would be required, that many more than 
five flakes would be struck off from each tool, and that the 
Palajolithic age vastly exceeded one millennium. Moreover, 



MR. pekgelly's presidential address. 33 

flakes were produced in, at least, equal numbers during the 
Neolithic or Polished Stone period: indeed, not until man 
entirely discontinued the use of flint tools — far into the Age 
of Metal — could he fidl to strike them off. 

Whilst the scientific world, with but an exception here and 
there, have accepted the doctrine of human antiquity on the 
flint e>ridence alone, it is interesting to be able to add that 
Kent's Cavern has yielded other proofs. Many of the bones 
found in it are split longitudinally, as if for the extinction of 
the marrow. This was without doubt the work of man, for 
besides him no animal is capable of so splitting them. But, 
without any known exception, every bone thus split has been 

gnawed by the hysena, which obtained the remnants of the 
Oman meaL 

When Columbus, on the night of the 11th of October, 
1492, during his first voyage across the Atlantic, saw a few 
transient gleams of light ahead, he "considered them as 
certain signs of land, and, moreover that the land was 
inhabited.*' Though few of his companions attached any 
importance to them, the sequel proved the correctness of the 
great navigator's inference; and the reward promised to 
whomsoever discovered land was adjudged to him, not for 
having been the first to see the land, but " for having per- 
ceived the light,"* In Kent's Cavern a somewhat considerable 
number of burnt fragments of bone have been found, beneath 
the stalagmite, mixed up with the implements and the bones 
of the extinct mammals. These charred fragments are as 
good a proof of the existence of man as was the light seen 
by the discoverer of America. For aught he knew, his light 
might have been that of a distant volcano ; but man must 
have kindled the fire which burnt the bones in Kent's Cavern. 

Becently, hpwever, the explorers have been rewarded by 
the discovery, in the same cavern and under the same con- 
ditions,'of three or four well-formed bone implements having 
such evident marks of design as to render further scepticism 
impossible. 

This sketch of the structure of our county suggests a few 
topics to which I will now briefly turn. 

1st Though the geology of Devonshire is very varied, 
there are many systems of rocks of which no example is 
found within its borders. Thus we have no Ix)wer Devonian, 
or Permian, or Oolitic, or Lower Cretaceous, or Eocene, or 
Upper Miocene, or Pliocene deposits. 

♦Washington Irving^H "Life of Cohnnlm^,*' bu*fk iii., iliap. iv. 
VOL. II. D 



34 MR. pengelly's presidential address. 

Tlie destruction of old rocks is a pre-requisite of the for- 
mation of new ones. The latter are formed of the debris of 
the former. An universal stratified formation is impossible. 
Deposition as certainly pre-supposes denudation as masonry 
pre-supposes quarrying. To furnish material for the Devon- 
shire strata, rocks were destroyed elsewhere ; and in its turn 
Devonshire, instead of an area of construction, has been one 
of waste. It is conceivable that the earth's surface may be 
capable of a threefold division — areas of denudation, areas 
of deposition, and areas of quiescence. The first may be 
sub-aerial or sub-aqueous, the second must be sub-aqueous, 
and if the third exist, they must be at the bottoms of pro- 
found seas only. 

The absence of a formation in a district implies that it was 
never deposited there, or that it has been completely destroyed. 
The former indicates that the area was above the sea level, 
or, what is much less probable, that it was covered by a pro- 
found sea ; whilst the latter shows that it was sub-aqueous 
during the period in question, and that the deposits, then 
laid down but now missing, were destroyed before the era of 
the next more modem formation existing in the locality. 
Thus, for example, if Permian rocks ever existed in what is 
now Devonshire, this country must during that era have been 
sub-aqueous, and those rocks must have been so completely 
broken up and removed before the Triassic period, as not only 
to leave no portion of a bed in situ, but not even any frag- 
ment to be included in the red conglomemtes : and so on in 
other cases. 

2nd. The voluminous and varied systems of strata which 
exist within this county denote that the material was supplied 
by denudation on a very large scale. In some instances it is 
easy, in others difficult or impossible, to say whence the 
materials were derived. Thus it is easy and safe to conclude 
that the clays and sands of the Bovey Lignite formation were 
derived from the Dartmoor granite; tliat by far the greater 
part of the rock fragments found in the Triassic conglomerates 
were obtained from rocks very near at hand; and, in like 
manner, there is no difficulty in tracking to their by no means 
distant homes the pebbles composing the superficial gravels 
of the county : but it is not easy to determine whence came 
that remarkable assemblage of pebbles forming the famous 
Budleigh Salterton "pebble bed,'* and extending thence inland 
for several miles. Perliaps all that can with certainty be 
stated is, that Devonshire contains no rock which could have 
yielded them, and that there are such rocks in France and in 



MR. PENGELLY'S PKE8IDEMTIAL ADDRESS. 35 

ComwalL There is a similar difficulty in accounting for the 
flints which are thrown up on almost every beacli in Devon 
and Cornwall, and which in some instances, as at Slapton, in 
South Devon, form the larger portion of the beach material. 

No one thinks, of course, of attempting to determine the 
source of the calcareous matter forming our limestones and 
chalks. These formations are mainly, if not exclusively, of 
oiganic origin — results of the labours of countless moUusks, 
and myriads of polyps and other lowly forms of life, which 
extracted from the ocean water the carbonate of lime which 
it held in solution. Nor is the case of our slates and fine- 
grained grits much more hopeful. The extremely slow rate 
at which fine mud sinks in water, the depth of the ocean, 
and the persistency and velocity of many ocean currents, are 
sofiicient to show that the area of construction may often be 
tax removed from that of denudation. 

But the deposits of our county are not the only evidences 
of denudation which it contains. It is as emphatically shown 
by the great vacant spaces between detax^hed portions of what 
was originally one continuous formation. For example, we 
have no Greensand between Peake Hill near Sidmouth, and 
the Haldons ; and thence again to Milber Down near Newton 
Abbot That these great interspaces are natural quarries we 
may be sure, but where the excavated materials were carried 
it is by no means easy to determina So again there are in 
Devonshire several small "Outliers" of Trias, as on the shores 
of Barnstaple, Start, and Bigbur}'^ Bays, many miles from one 
another as well as from the continuous formation. Within 
the last few weeks I have had the opportunity of studying a 
still more distant patch of the same rock, between the village 
of Gawsand and lledding Point, in Plymouth Sound. The 
denudation was obviously on a very large scale ; but had it 
been still larger, had it destroyed the Outliers too, there 
would have been no evidence that it had ever taken place. 

3rd. When we find that on such a question as the age of 
the oldest group of rocks in Devonshire, the opinion of 
Messrs. Sedgwick and Murchison — the Pi*ofessor of Geology 
in the University of Cambridge, and the Director-General of 
the Geological Survey of Great Britain — is pronounced to be 
an error by the i)upil of the former and the colleague of tlie 
latter — Mr. Jukes, Local Director of the Geological Survey of 
Ireland — it is perhaps jiot surprising that we occasionally 
hear it disparagingly stated that " geology is in its infancy ; " 
that "its most anient cultivators are by no means agreed 
among themselves;'* and that " what is orthodox to-day may 

D 2 



36 MR. pengelly's presidentul address. 

be heterodox to-morrow." On looking closely, however, it is 
found, as in others, that this case does not affect the great 
principles of the science, is mainly a matter of classification, 
and in a great degree arises from an attempt to discover a 
line where nature never drew one. In hastily generalizing 
from somewhat local facts, our fathers were too prone to sup- 
pose that from time to time convulsions had universally and 
synchronously depopulated the globe, and brought back chaos. 
On the restoration of order, it was supposed that by a new 
act of creation the world was re-peopled with organisms, 
which in their turn would be ejected by the same rude pro- 
cess. Had this been the real life-history of the earth, the 
divisions of geological time would be well defined and easily 
determined ; but discovery has shown that it is anything but 
a true representation of actual facts ; that there is reason to 
believe that from the advent of the first organism up to the 
present hour the world has never ceased to be the theatre 
of life ; and that breaks in organic continuity arise entirely 
from the imperfection of the geological record. It is obvious, 
that in proportion as the science approximates perfection, the 
chasms will be filled in, and hard lines of demarcation will 
disappear. "We may be eventually compelled to resort to 
sections of time as arbitrary, and as purely conventional, as 
those which divide the history of human events into cen- 
turies."* There will always be different systems of classi- 
fication, and debatable zones at the junction of formations. 

4th. Amongst the besetments of the cultivators, as well as 
the discouragers of science, is that of trusting to negative 
evidence, even when unsupported by any confirmatory posi- 
tive fact; of practically forgetting that ignorance of the 
existence of a fact is far from being the same thing as know- 
ledge of its non-existence. The Kent's Hole explorations 
supply an instructive example of this. For four years Mr. 
M'Enery sedulously explored the Cavern, and he recorded the 
fact that he found human flint tools. To precisely the same 
effect were the subsequent researches of Mr. Godwin- Austen, 
and, still later, of the Torquay Natural History Society. The 
British Association Committee laboured some months without 
advancing further — the flint implements were still the only 
indication of the presence of man. Before the end of six 
months, however, they met with a new class of evidence, and 
in their first Report, in 1865, were able to announce that 
" several small pieces of burnt bone had been met with in the 

♦ Sir C. Lyell's "Elements of Geology.*' Sixth Edition, p. 183. 1866. 



MR. pengelly's presidential address. 37 

red loam." Before the end of another year, they observed 
an additional tact, and, in 1866, reported that "very many of 
the long bones had been split longitudinally,'' and that " it 
was difficult to suppose, either a priori, or from an examina- 
tion of them, that less than human agency could have so 
divided theuL" Later still, at the end of twenty months 
from the banning, the first bone implement was found; 
and at the next meeting of the Association, the Committee 
will have the pleasure of reporting the discovery of, at least, 
four of this new class of objects. 

On taking a dispassionate view of all the facts, it does not 
appear to be necessary to relinquish the hope of finding the 
bones of the implement makers, or to abandon the belief in 
the high Antiquity of Man, even though Kent's Cavern may 
never yield any part of his osseous system. 

Lastly. It must be unnecessary to remark that the time 
has by no means arrived when the Devonshire geologists can 
suspend their labours. There remain many unsolved pro- 
blems within our borders. We still ask, " What is the age of 
the Crystalline Schists at the southern angle of our county? 
What is the precise chronology of our Limestones and asso- 
ciated rocks? Is there, east of Exmouth, a break in the 
Bed rocks? Whence came the Budleigh Salterton pebbles? 
Whence also the Porphyritic Trap nodules so abundant in 
the Trias? Are our Greensands really of the age of the 
Gault? Whence the flints so numerous on our existing 
beaches ? What is the history of our Superficial Gravels ? 
Are there any indications of Glaciation in Devonshire ? To 
what race did our Cave-Men belong ? The solution of, at 
least,^ many of these questions must be reserved for another 
generation of enquirers ; and to the young men of the pre- 
sent day I earnestly commend them. 



NORTH DEVON CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

BY J. B. CHANTBH. 



Devon in general, and North Devon in particular, has been 
very retentive of ancient customs, habits, and superstitiona 
Its folk-lore is especially interesting from its local form of 
fairy, the Devonshire pixy. But the most noticeable fact 
connected with North Devon is, not so much the variety 
or specially local character of its superstitions and vulgar 
customs, as of their being still generally interwoven with the 
daily life of the population. In most parts of the country it 
is necessary, in order to gather up local customs or legends, 
to seek out ancient crones or noted legend-tellers; but no one 
can live in this district, and mix much with the country folks, 
without finding a general belief in witchcraft still existing, 
and old customs and superstitions in full sway. A great 
many of these are, or were, common to all England, but 
having gradually died out in the more busy parts of the 
country, have continued hei*e, most probably from the isolated 
nature of the district, aud the stagnant character of the 
agricultural population. 

It is not even necessary to go out of our homes to have 
very palpable proof of these superstitious practices; they are 
brought into our houses by domestic servants, who are mostly 
supplied from the agricultural districts, and who communicate 
them to our children. Curious revelations frequently occur 
in our Police and County Courts. The Judge of one of them 
very recently expressed his indignation at the cool way in 
which a man spoke of his wife having been '*strook" seveml 
times ; and it was necessary to be explained that he did not 
refer to her having been subjected to personal chastisement, 
but to her having had proper medical treatment for some 
ailment, by the part being "struck" with some imaginary 
remedy or charm. 

The medical repute of charms is, in fact, very prevalent ; 
any sudden cure is proverbially said to act like a charm. The 
seventh son of a seventh son is still in great request to 
*' touch" for fits; and a case of this came out on a legal 



NORTH DEVON CUSTOMS AND BUPEBSTITIONS. 39 

enquiry only a week or two since. Warts and swellings are 
removed by various charms, such as skeins of thread knotted 
with the number of the warts to be removed, and struck 
across the warts as many times, and then buried ; or striking 
with a witch elm wand, or a piece of stolen bacon ; in each 
of which cases as the buried article decays so do the warts 
gradually decrease; or by depositing a given number of 
pebbles or peas in a bag, and losing it, but in this case the 
unfortunate finder gets the warts himself. But the most 
favourite remedy for warts, and indeed all swellings, is to 
have "words" said over them. 

A portion of a rope with which a suicide has hanged 
himself is a wondrous charm against all accidents, when 
worn around the person. 

The tooth ache is cured, and, what is more, perfect exemi)- 
tion from it for the future is supposed to be attained, by biting 
out a tooth from a corpse or skull; and very recently, a 
skeleton having been discovered at Croyde, the jaws were 
quickly denud^ of all their teeth by the number of persons 
who luwtened to the spot to bite them out. Every old 
woman has her remedy for boils, some of them of a very 
ludicrous nature. I was favoured with a new and rather 
ghastly recipe this week only, which I copy in full. 

"To cure a friend of Boils. — Go into a churchyard on a dark 
night, and to the grave of a person who has been interred the 
day previous; walk six times round the grave, and crawl 
across it three times. If the sufferer from boils is a man, tliis 
ceremony must be performed by a woman, and the contrary. 
The charm will not work unless the night is quite dark." 
There is an appended uota "This remedy was tried by a 
young woman in Georgeham churchyard,'* but with what result 
was not told; the inference was that it succeeded. I should 
add, that this recipe was given in full faith and belief of its 
efiBcacy. 

Accidents, or any obscure ailments to cattle, are commonly 
attributed to their being witched, or "overlooked," as the 
term is, and can only be cured by a white witch ; and it is 
well known that more than one person in North Devon gains 
his livelihood by acting professionally as a white witch, that 
is, the country people call him the white witch, though he 
professes to be a cattle doctor. 

In fact, if any one gets into trouble in any way, it is quite 
a sufficient explanation that he has been "evil- wished and 
overlooked," and the white witch is forthwith called into 
requisition. 



40 NOBTH DEVON CUSTOMS AND SUPSBSTITIONa 

Omens, presentiments, and death- warnings, are much be- 
lieved in hereabouts. The bells in a house ringing, or knocks 
heard at night; a winding sheet in a candle; a dog howling 
on a door-step; or, what is a more local and poetic super- 
stition, the "wist bird** being heard twittering, — are r^arded 
with dread, as the sure forerunners of a death, or other 
calamity in a housa Cocks crowing at night are signs of 
sickness; and the most forced interpretations are put on 
dreams, when any trivial matter occurs, in order that the 
dreamers may say, " There, my dream is out.*' 

Bee-keepers, almost without exception, are full of super- 
stitions. A swarm must on no account be sold, but given 
away or exchanged. The bees must be informed, by tapping 
on the hive and whispering, of anything that takes place 
in the house, or if any of the family are ill, or going to, or 
returning from, a visit. A Christmas handsel must be given 
them on New Year's Day; and the hives must be turned if 
a death occurs, or the bees will forsake the hive ; and the 
Charivari of bells and kettles, when they swarm, is some- 
times extreme. These customs are not exceptional, but very 
common. Some friends of mine near the town, who are bee- 
keepers, and who have given me most of these details, care- 
fully attend to all these superstitions on the principle that, 
though absurd in themselves, it is impossible to make the 
people about them think so, and that their servants would 
be dissatisfied and take no interest in the bees, unless allowed 
to consult their own prejudices, and would attribute any 
accident or failure in the honey crop entirely to the omission 
of the accustomed forms. 

If any one offends an old woman, the severest reply she 
can make is to say she will have him witched; and an 
instance occurred only last week. A sailor from a vessel 
that put into Croyde Bay carried off" a rope belonging to a 
singular character there resident, who was heard to threaten 
very earnestly, that if he had been there, he would have 
witched the vessel, and made a spell by which she should 
never have left the Bay again. 

A great many old English customs also still linger, and 
are frequently practised here. The groaning cheese is cut on 
the birth of an infant ; a shoe is thrown after a bride for 
luck ; and, in ca.ses of death, the common superstition of 
opening every lock and bolt in the house is very generally 
observed, as is also another very curious local one. When 
the funeral procession leaves the house, all the doors are 
carefully set open, and not closed until after the procession 



NORTH DBVON CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 41 

returns, the superstition running, *' Shut one corpse out — three 
corpses in." These last customs are continued simply because 
at these periods the arrangements are generally left in the 
hands of nurses and other persons about the sick house, who 
are a class for the most part strongly imbued with super- 
stitions feelings. 

The ashen faggot is burnt at Christmas with all formality; 
Lenten shirds are plentifully thrown on Ash Wednesday; 
even the May Day and Midsummer Eve ceremonies, and 
mumming at Christmas, have not been long discontinued, as 
I have myself seen St. George and the Dragon acted by 
parties who went from house to house on Christmas Eve; 
the old fashioned play, " Here come I, old Father Christmas; 
Here come I, the great St. George;" iDut I believe the Waits 
or Christmas Carols are the only ancient custom now in use, 
and they are still entertained at midnight on elder wine 
and toasta Barnstaple great fair is still heralded by hang- 
ing out an immense glove. 

I have here referred only to a few customs and super- 
stitions which have come under my own personal observation. 
No doubt the list can be veiy largely increased; but my 
object on this occasion is to call attention to a curious local 
application of a widely diffused vulgar custom, — that of 
Skimmington riding. The origin of this custom is rather 
obscure, as it appears to have been practised under different 
names in most parts of England, and in many foreign 
countries. It consists of a burlesque procession, in ridicule 
of a man whose wife has been faithless to him, and likewise 
of a tame husband submitting to be henpecked and beaten 
by his wife, and, in fact, allowing her to wear the unmen- 
tionables. 

This procession usually consists of two stuffed figures of 
a man and a woman on horseback, back to back, preceded by 
a man carrying a pair of ram's horns on a pole, or on his 
head, and followed by noisy music of ladles, pots, frying- 
pans, and cleavers, all the other persons in the procession 
smacking whips; and in this manner are paraded through 
the parish into the next, where the bonis are nailed up 
sometimes to the Church porch. Such a procession is even 
yet not unfrequently seen in this district, and is intended as a 
warning and punishment to unruly wives and tame husbands, 
and to hold them up to public scorn. But the rustics have 
a tradition, that, by using this ceremony, they can legally 
establish a Cattle Fair; just as they fancy, that if a funeral 
passes through any private property, it establishes for ever 



42 NORTH DEVON CUSTOMS AND SUPEESTITIONS. 

after a pablic right of way; or that a wife can be legally 
divorced by exposing her for sale in Market Overt, with a 
halter round her neck ; and I believe that more than one 
fair in North Devon was first established with this ceremony. 
One instance of it came under my personal notice some years 
since, as I was visiting at the Manor House, when a depu- 
tation arrived, bringing the following document, drawn up 
with a great pretence of legal form, and tendering the tolls. 

" Manor of Lynton, in the County of Devon. 

" Whereas the Inhabitants of Lynton, having sent Notice 
"to the Inhabitants of Countisbury, did ride Skivetton on 
"the 12th day of June, 1854 ; and having carried the horns, 
"and having nailed and left the horns in the parish of 
" Countisbury, in the county of Devon, without let or hin- 
"drance; and having sent notice to the Churchwardens of 
"Countisbury, that they should bring the horns, and leave 
"the same in the parish of Countisbury, on Monday, June 
"26th, for the purpose of holding a Cattle Fair; and the 
" inhabitants of Countisbury having received the same with- 
" out let or hindrance, a Cattle Fair was accordingly held in 
"the said Manor of Lynton, on Monday, June 26th, 1854; 
"and the tolls having been refused by Mr. Teppee, the 
" majority have voted the same to the Lord of the Manor of 
" Lynton, and that the same be sent to him accordingly." 

Then follows a long list of the sales effected at the fair, 
and the tolls received. 

The fair, thus commenced, continued to be held until the 
cattle disease put a stop to all these local fairs. I know of 
no custom analogous to this anywhere else in England, 
except the well-known Horn Fair at Charlton, in Kent, 
which used to be opened with a procession somewhat similar 
to that of the Skimmington. But, in conclusion, I would call 
attention to a curious entry in the Churchwardens* accounts 
of Pilton— " 1797, July 10th. Paid for crying down the 
" Whips and Horns, 3d.** I imagine this must have some 
reference to Skimmington riding, which was considered to 
confer some legal rights, and, as we have seen in the 
document quoted, that the horns were taken into the next 
parish, and notice sent to the Churchwardens — probably 
something of the sort occurred in the case of Pilton — and 
the Churchwardens thought it necessary to prevent any 
assumed rights being acquired in their parish, by having the 
removal of the horns cried down. 



THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAY, 
NORTH DEVON. 

BY W. PENQELLY, F.B.8., F.G.B, 



Gbolooists have, from time to time, called attention to the 
existence of a series of Baised Beaches along both the 
northern and southern coasts of Devon and Cornwall. In 
December, 1836, Professor Sedgwick and Sir R. I. Murchison 
first pointed out, and minutely described, what they con- 
sidered a good example of one of those beaches, on the 
northern shore of Barnstaple Bay. About three months 
later, March, 1837, the Kev. D. Williams confirmed the state- 
ments and opinions of the writers just mentioned, and added 
some interesting facts to the description which they had 
given. In a paper read before this Association at the Meeting 
in 1866, some doubt was thrown on the conclusion to which 
the earlier observers had been led, and it was suggested that 
perhaps the time had arrived when the evidence of change of 
level, along our coasts generally, should be reconsidered I 
had, on more than one occasion, visited this beach, and had 
gone away unsuspicious of their being any flaw either in the 
facts or in the logic. Acting on the suggestion just men- 
tioned, however, I have twice re-visited the ground, accom- 
panied on the first occasion by Mr. W. Jones, and on both by 
Mr. W. Vicary, f.g.s., and, having made a series of careful 
observations on the southern, as well as the northern shore of 
the bay, I now beg to lay the results before the Association. 
At present, the sea in some places is occupied in grinding 
down the rocky strand to one general plane, which frequently 
dips so gently sea-ward as to appear sensibly horizontal ; and 
in others, in throwing up and lodging sand, or mud, or 
shingle — results of grinding operations elsewhere. In this 
way it must have operated ever since rocks were first exposed 
to its action. Denudation and Deposition are inseparable : 
each necessarily supposes the other. Hence there are two 
distinct evidences of change of relative level of sea and 
land — Terraces of Denudation, or Rock Platforms; and 



44 THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAY. 

Terraces of Deposition, or Raised Beaches. I endeavoured, 
in a paper printed in our Transactions for 1866, to point out 
that accumulations of sand, even when assuming a stratified 
character, and at a considerable height above the existing 
strand, must not, as a matter of course, be r^arded as Baised 
Beaches, since they may be masses of blown sand only. But 
it does not appear to be possible to misinterpret a platform of 
denudation, or an accumulation of pebbles and lK)ulders, or 
sand replete with large shells, when either or all of these 
phenomena present themselves at heights above the reach of 
waves at the existing levela 

Commencing, on the southern side of the bay, at West- 
ward-Ho hotel, and proceeding westward towards Clovelly, 
we soon found in the cliff an old terrace of denudation, con- 
sisting of the planed-down outcrop of almost vertical strata, 
and about fifteen feet by careful measurement above the 
existing strand of the same kind. When measured at right 
angles to the coast line, it was found to be thirty feet wide, 
and on its inner or landward margin there reposes a dis- 
tinct old beach, about five feet thick, and composed of sand 
and boulders; the latter being precisely like, and quite as 
large as, those forming the well-known Pebble ridge at 
Northam Burrows. As in most of our Raised Beaches, 
there are a few flints mixied with the sand and pebbles, 
but perhaps scarcely so many as occur on the existing 
adjacent strata. Overlying the old beach, there is a sul^ 
aerial accumulation, or "Head," about 12 feet thick. At 
this point there are no means of determining how far into the 
country the platform and beach extend ; but in the direction 
of the coast, both are to be seen as far west as Abbotsham 
Cliffs, a distance of from a mile to a mile and a half. They 
are most conspicuous on the numerous projecting points of 
cliff, or mimic headlands. One of these presents a section, not 
only in the general line of the coast, but, what is nmch more 
important for the purpose of disclosing the breadth of the plat- 
form and beach — or rather of what remain of them— a section 
at right angles to it also. Commencing at the low-water line 
and proceeding landward, we have first a bare rocky strand, 
600 feet wide— the outcrop of nearly vertical strata. From the 
inner end of this, a coarse pebble beach, 50 feet broad, rises 
at an angle of 12°, and abuts against an almost verticsd cliff 
of rocks. This cliff rises to the height of 18 feet, and ter- 
minates in an old platform, sensibly horizontal, 60 feet broad, 
and in all respects similar to that just mentioned, which is 
now alternately covered and laid bare at every high and low 



THE RAISED BEACUE8 IN BARNSTAPLE BAY. 45 

water respectively. This terrace is completely occupied by 
an old beach, 12 feet thick, and composed of lai^ge well- 
rounded pebbles, differing in no respect from those forming 
the modem beach immediately below. This, in its turn, is 
capped by a Head, inclining inwards at an angle of about 52°, 
and measuring 47 feet along the slope. 

From these facts we came to the following conclusions : — 
Ist That on the southern side of Barnstaple bay there is 
unmistakable evidence of an upheaval to the extent of at 
least twenty feet. * 

2nd. That judging from the width of that portion of it 
which still remains, the platform represents a very protracted 
period during which the country remained at the correspond- 
ingly lower level. 

3rd. That in height and character, this platform so closely 
resembles those so well-known along the coasts of Devon and 
Ck)rawall generally, as to betoken that it is a result and proof 
of one and the same general elevation. 

4th. That the conditions of the old strand were very much 
the same as those characterizing that at present existing 
immediately below — the terrace being covered with large 
pebbles and boulders, with some sand and a few flinta 

5tL That unless there has been a great fault in very 
modern times along the line of the Taw, or Torridge, or both, 
of which the succession of strata gives no known indication, 
the northern shore of the bay must have been similarly 
raised, and is not unlikely to contain some evidence thereof. 

Messrs. Sedgwick and Murchison did not fail to notice 
this Ane example of change of level, as they state that " the 
old line of cliffs, anterior to the elevation, may be traced 
from Appledore along the south side of Norton'* (Northam) 
« Burrows."* 

It is due to the eminent geologists just mentioned, to give 
here the substance of their excellent description of the 
Raised Beach on the northern side of the bay. They state 
that it is first seen at the northern extremity of Braunton 
Burrows, and is traceable round the western end of Saunton 
Down into Croyde Bay, and thence, after some interruption, 
to Baggy Point; that it forms regular sea-cliffs, which in 
several parts are perfectly indurated; that in distinctness of 
stratification it yields to no rock; that the bottom of the 
deposit is chiefly conii>osed of indurated shingles, resting on 
the ledges of the older rocks, and filling up their inequali- 

♦ Proc Geul. Sue., vol. iL p. 442. 



46 THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAT. 

ties; that these conglomerates are seldom of great thickness, 
but in some places alternate two or three times with beds of 
sand so as to reach an elevation of eight or nine feet; that 
over the shingles are horizontal beds of sand, occasionally 
indurated, sometimes putting on a concretionary structure 
and weathering into grotesque forms ; that over these again, 
are regular beds of fine sand in a state of imperfect indura- 
tion, and sometimes hardly differing from the sand of the 
actual beach between high and low water marks; that their 
thickness amounts in some places to more* than seventy feet; 
that the whole is frequently covered by terrestrial materials 
derived from the adjacent heights; that the sand contains 
marine shells, few and badly preserved in the upper beds, 
but more abundant and often well-preserved in the indurated 
strata; that in their condition and arrangement, they resemble 
the shells of a modern beach; that in species they are iden- 
tical with the living shells of the coast, and have amongst 
them Mactra stiUtorum, Tellina fahula, T. soliduia, Gardium 
ediUe, Ostrea edtUis, Mytilus edtUis, Mya margarUaeea, Pholas, 
Patella vulgaris, Naiica eanrena, and Purpura lapillus; that 
at the north side of Croyde Bay, the shells are very abundant, 
the lower shingles expand to the thickness of nineteen feet^ 
and are found on the {ace of Baggy Point at various heights, 
rising to sixty or seventy feet above high-water level ; that 
the horizontai beds cannot have been formed of accumu- 
lations of blown sand, but are stratified marine deposits, 
differing in no respect from the sand and coarsest shingle of 
the neighbouring beach except in the level; that they per- 
fectly demonstrate an elevation of the neighbouring coast 
during the modern period; and that in some places long 
smooth water-worn surfaces, exactly like those formed by 
the existing breakers of a rocky shore, may be traced midway 
in the cliff, at an elevation quite out of the reach of the 
cause which formed them.* 

In the subsequent paper, the Rev. D. Williams thus defined 
the situation of the beaches: "The first extends from Braunton 
Burrows to Down-End Point; the other on the N. coast 
of Croyde Bay, from near the lime kilns to half-way to 
Baggy Point." He fully ajcfreed with the conclusions drawn 
by Messra Sedgwick and Murchison, as to the beaches having 
been raised. He stated that he had discovered in many 
places, from five to ten feet above the tidal level, and at the 
line of contact of the beaches with the old slate rocks of the 

♦ Proc. Oeol. Soc., vol. ii. pHges 441-3. 



THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAY. 47 

district^ countless Balani attached to the surface of the latter, 
but so firmly entangled with the substance of the former, as 
to be separated with its fragments; and he thought it pro- 
bable that they extended to still higher levels under the 
sandstone. He also mentioDcd that at the base of the sand- 
stone, above high-water mark, there is a magnificent block of 
flesh-coloured granite, likef much of that of the Grampians, 
but not like any granite in Lundy, Dartmoor, or Cornwall.* 

In his "Report,'* in 1839, Sir. H. De la Beche states that 
the raised benches in the district surrounding Barnstaple 
Bay can leave little doubt that " the sea once flowed up the 
valleys of the Taw and Torridge, at an elevation of 30 or 40 
feet higher than at present 'y** and he points out that there 
seems reason to believe that in several localities in Cornwall 
new sandy dunes have been accumulated over the old raised 
dunes and beaches, in a manner to prevent any distinctive 
line between them; and he remarks that on the north of 
Braunton Burrows '' sandy accumulations are observed above 
the raised beaches on the north of them."t 

Subsequent writers have, from time to time, noticed this 
beach, but without, so far as I am aware, adding to the facts 
already recorded. 

Last year, however, in the paper already spoken of, Mr. 
Spence Bate stated that a near inspection showed that the 
horizontal layers of sand are built up of numerous thin strata, 
exhibiting lines of false bedding in various directions; that 
80 far as his own experience went, the embedded shells were 
few, and consisted of dead valves of the common mussel 
{MytUus edulis), having the concave side invariably down- 
wards; that specimens of Balamis balanoides remain in great 
numbers attached to the rocks where the so-called Raised 
Beach rests on them — a certain proof that they were living 
in the position in which they are found, before the sand was 
deposited; that the normal habitat of the species is a belt of 
rock between half tide and high water; that it is therefore 
evident that the present beach nmst have been at or near its 
present level when the Balani were living; that consequently 
there is no evidence that any elevation of the coast line has 
taken place since the so-called raised beach was formed ; that 
the stratification of the beds is such as cori'esponds with no 
sedimentary deposit; that the false bedding is persistent in 
any part, and takes peculiar forms, sometimes those of semi- 

♦ Proc. Geol. Soc., vol. ii. page 536. 
t "Report," pages 426-6. 



48 THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAT. 

circles and short oblique lines, assimilating to lines of 
cleavage; that the entire structure conduces to the conviction 
that the so-called raised beach is in reality the uudestroyed 
remnant of an extensive district of wind-borne sand, similar 
to that which now exists on Brauntou Burrows, and formerly 
extended to Baggy Point; and that a study of the stratifi- 
cation of the hills of drifted sand demonstrates a series of 
layers that assimilate to the various modes of stratification 
found in the ancient bed, and which, he thinks, can be 
accounted for by no other means than the varying and ever- 
changing direction of the wind.* 

The visit to the Raised Beach, by Mr. Vicary and myself, 
was made at the time of spring tide, almost immediately 
after the vernal equinox, and, fortunately, when a fierce north- 
westerly gale was throwing a heavy sea into the bay. We 
first studied the facts which present themselves between 
Baggy Point and the lodging house at Croyde Bay. At a 
short quarter of a mile from the latter, there is a rift or gully 
in the rocks, running in a N.KW. direction — obliquely to 
the coast line,— upwards of 300 feet in length, and about four 
yards wida The general dip of the strand at the bottom of 
this fissure, from the inner to the outer end, is 3°, but the 
innermost 30 yards are occupied with a coarse beach, the 
slope of which is 13^ From the foot of this, to its outward 
termination, the gorge is occupied with huge boulders and 
blocks of rock. The upper surface of each of its walls is a 
well-defined platform or plane, dipping seaward at 3°, and 
formed on the outcrop of almost veitical gritty strata By 
careful measurements, these platforms were found to be fi*om 
20 to 25 feet above the level of the existing tidal strand 
immediately below. 

Tlie northern platform — that on the Baggy side of the 
gorge — is about 12 feet broad, and its surface is studded 
with orange and grey lichens. On its inner or landward 
margin there is a good example of the Raised Beach, the base 
of which is a bed consisting of pebbles, angular stones, 
and shells of various kinds, and about a foot thick. Above 
this are horizontal beds of sand, made up of thin layers, and 
firmly cemented. In these upper beds there are numerous 
grotesque folds, many of them semicircles from three to six 
inches in diameter, which in all probability are of concre- 
tionary origin, and which reminded us of the whimsical forms 
frequently assumed by the New Red Sandstone near Dawlish 

* Tnms. Dev. Assoc, for 1866, pages 128-136. 



THE RAISED BKACHKS IN BARNSTAPLE BAT. 49 

and elsewhere. The beds of sand are overlain by angnlar 
*' Head" from six to eight feet thick. During our visit we 
had an opportanity of carefully watching the platform at the 
highest tide of the spring, when, as might have been expected 
from the presence of the lichens, even the violent waves utterly 
fiEdled to reach its level. Occasionally, however, they flooded 
it with spray. 

On the southern platform of the gorge, the character of the 
old beach is displayed still better. The basal portion is, at 
the inner or landward end, fully four feet thick, it thins out 
seaward, terminating at a distance of 47 feet, and is com- 
posed of well-rounded pebbles and boulders, several of which 
are upwards of two feet in diameter. This is overlain by 
sand firmly cemented, rudely laminated, and containing 
broken shells. At the inner end of the section, the sand is 
about two feet thick, but it gradually thickens seaward, as 
the underlying pebble bed thins out. They terminate at the 
same point, the sand being abruptly truncated, and fully six 
feet thick. At this point its base is 23 feet above the bottom 
of the gorge immediately beneatL The whole is capped with 
sub-aerial matter from ten to twelve feet thick at the inner 
end, but thining out so rapidly as to terminate at a distance 
of 39 feet. 

Between this gorge and the lodging-house, the beach is in 
many places extremely well marked, and frequently contains 
shells, amongst which we recognized the common cockle, 
Cardium edule; the mussel, Mytilus edulis; the limpet, 
Paiella vulgaris; and othera Some of them are well pre- 
served, whilst others are much broken ; and they lie, just as 
do shells on a modem beach, with the concave surfaces either 
upwards or downwards. 

The central shore or head of Croyde Bay is occupied by 
huge heaps of blown sand, lying on an accumulation of tough 
yellow clay with stones, not exclusively angular, the top of 
which is sensibly horizontal, and from ten to twelve feet 
above the existing strand of fine sand. The valleys between 
the sand hills are frequently deep enough to show that this 
accumulation of clay and stones extends some distance into 
the interior; but there is here no indication of the Raised 
Beach. This mass of clay and stones presents a problem, 
perhaps, somewhat difficult of solution. 

On the southern side of Croyde Bay the cliffs are from 20 to 
30 feet high, and chiefly consist of the sub-aerial accumulation ; 
bnt incoherent sand appears here and there underljring it 

At the end of Saunton Down —the southern horn of the 

VOL. II. E 



50 THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAT. 

bay — the true Saised Beach is resumed, and extends thence 
to Braunton Burrows, a distance little short of a mila The 
first observation we noted was, that the beach consisted of 
a coarse conglomerate from two to three feet thick, overlain 
with stratified and firmly-cemented sand; and that lichens; 
thrifty Armeria maritima; samphire, CrUhinum maritimum; 
rushes, Juncus; and other terrestrial plants were growing at 
a level below that of the base of the conglomerate. A short 
distance eastward, on an old Terrace of Denudation, the 
beach section was first, or lowest, sand in horizontal layers, 
firmly cemented, and having a thickness of eight feet; on 
this lay a three-feet band of angular, sub-angular, and well- 
rounded stones, some of them fifteen inches in diameter. In 
this band I found a common limpet shell Above this again, 
sand in horizontal layers, and fully 30 feet in total thicknesa 
The whole was capped with about five feet of sub -aerial 
angular matter. 

The fine granite boulder mentioned by Bev. D. Williams 
is beneath the beach, and has been disclosed by the natural 
destruction and removal of portions of the lower beds of the 
latter, so that it now occupies a small cavern at the base of 
the beach. So far as I am aware, it is unlike any granite 
which exists in Devon or Cornwall. Though it has undeigone 
a laige amount of abrasion, and is worn beautifully smooth, 
it cannot be said to be well rounded. Indeed, its original 
edges and angles are much more pronounced tluui is the case 
with many a block of granite on Dartmoor, which has never 
travelled an inch, but has taken its form from weathering 
alone. Were a perfectly angular block lodged on a shingle 
beach, it would probably in a veiy short time be as much 
rounded as is this mass; so that its present form may have 
been produced since its lodgment in the spot it now occupies. 
That portion of it which is now visible measures 7i x 6 x 3 
feet; hence it contains upwaixis of 135 cubic feet of rock; 
so that if its specific gravity be taken at 2643 (the mean of 
the Cornish and the Aberdeen granites), its weight cannot be 
less, and is probably much more, than ten tons. It is em- 
bedded in shingle, apparently not above the highest reach of 
the waves; but it must be remembered that in such a posi- 
tion heavy seas would heap up pebbles considerably above 
their own level. Moreover, we found orange lichens growing 
on adjacent rocks below the level of the visible base of the 
boulder. 

The Baiani, previously mentioned, occur in, many places, 
in widely-spread patches attached to the rocks at the base of 



THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAY. 51 

the beach; and, by digging away the latter, specimens were 
exposed higher and higher np. Indeed, we failed to find the 
Wj^fer verge of the Balanus zone. In one locality, a rocky 
aensiMy^l^nzontal platform extends seaward from this zone, 
at a somewhat Immx level, for a distance of fully 100 feet^ and 
is thickly studded with omg^ and grey lichens. Somewhat 
farther east, lichens were growing ai a live-feet lower level. 
Further in the same direction, a stone crop, Sedum, was 
growing vigorously four feet below the base of the Balanus 
zone, and lichens lower stilL At a still more easterly station, 
we noted the following plants growing below the Balani: 
privet, Ligustrumvtdgare; grass; groundsel, Senecio vulgaris; 
thrift, Armeria maritima; spurge, Euphorbia; Forget-me- 
not> Myosotis scarpiodes; speedwell, Veronica; wild beet, 
Beta maritima; milky thistle, SUyhum viarianum ; and grey 
and orange lichens. Many of these were abundant, and all 
of them healthy and vigorous. They extended downwards 
to seven feet below the cirrepedes, and the lichens to a foot 
still lower. 

Between Down-End and Braunton Buitows we measured 
the following section of beach reposing on a rocky platform, 
on which grew lichens, thrift, and other plants. This terrace 
is ten feet above the existing strand, and projects seaward 
from the cliff about ten feet. First or lowest, sand nine feet 
thick, in firmly-cemented horizontal layers, and containing 
pebbles in the lower part. Above this, precisely similar 
sand ¥dthout pebbles, 12 feet thick, and made up of curved 
layers, the inclination of which sometimes amounts to 30''. 
Still higher, six feet of similar sand, in horizontal layers, and 
lying unconformably on the second series. Capping the 
whole, 20 feet of stony " Head." 

At the northern end of Braunton Burrows, the cliff rises 
like a cyclopean wall, the lowermost 11 feet being massive 
beds of sand, cemented into a very hard sandstone, having 
no indication of rocky strand beneath. It is impossible to 
say how far this extends into the country, as it soon becomes 
complety concealed by the recent sand dunes forming part of 
the adjacent Burrows. Above the old indurated sand beds 
the clMT consists of a yellowish-drab clay, with from 40 to 
50 per cent, of angular stones. By aneroid, the entire cliff 
measures 114 feet in height, giving for the "Head" alone a 
thickness of 103 feet. The upper surface of this cliff is a 
somewhat broad plain, behind which is a rather lofty upland. 
But for their stratification, the sandy beds at the base of the 
cliff might be ascribed to blown sand by an observer who 

E 2 



52 THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAT. 

contented himself with the evidence obtainable from them 
alone. Thoagh there is nothing incompatible with upheaval, 
there is there nothing but the well-defined bedding to neces- 
sitate, or even to suggest, the idea of change of level. Under 
any circumstances, however, it would be impossible to resist 
the conviction that the beds are of great antiquity, inasmuch 
as they must be older than the over-lying sub-aerial accumu- 
lation, fully 100 feet thick, and which is not a mere talus, 
but an uniform continuous deposit^ at least, mainly derived 
from the adjacent heights. 

At the time of low water, we walked for some distance in 
front of Braunton Burrows, keeping generally near the high- 
water mark. Above this line, pebbles of various kinds are 
abundant, both without and between the sand hills, where 
the valleys are sufficiently deep to disclose them. They lie 
on sand, there being no trace of such clay as is seen under^ 
lying the dunes in Croyde Bay. We were not able to 
determine whether or not the pebbles pass under the sand 
hills. There were none on the tidal strand. 

The day being dry, and a strong on-shore gale blowing, wa 
had a good opportunity for studying the action of the wind 
on the sand hUls. The sand was blown landward in clouds, 
and produced a most desolate spectacle. I ventured once or 
twice for some distance amongst the flying grains, and found 
travelling there peculiarly distressing. The strand, though 
consisting of fine dry sand, contributed but little to the mass 
of matter set in motion, which mainly consisted of the 
materials of the existing dunes. 

We saw here, as well as in the hillocks in Croyde Bay, 
numerous examples of apparent stratification in the blown 
sand, some of them so perfect in their aspect as almost to 
render it absurd to doubt their being examples of genuine 
and, indeed, well-defined bedding; but in every instance 
they proved to be counterfeits only. Except where sand had 
remained undisturbed for a sufficient length of time to have 
borne a crop of plants, which, on being buried up, had decom- 
posed and produced a band of vegetable matter, we saw not 
a single instance of an approach to a true bedded chai-acter. 
So far as my experience goes, well-marked stratification is the 
result, and is a proof, of sedimentation from water in motion. 

Nor did we detect in the Raised Beaches any features 
which were not attributable to sedimentation or to concre- 
tion — the beds and the diagonal layers being due to the 
former, whilst the grotesque forms which occur in some beds 
were the result of the latter. 



THE KAJBED BEACHES IN BABNSTAPLE BAT. 53 

Oar observations on the terrestrial plants, growing at levels 
beneath that of the Baiani, naturally led iis to the conclusion 
that the latter occupy a zone from eight to ten feet above the 
reach of anything but the spray of the highest wave& But 
waiving this at present, and assuming that they are not 
above the level of ordinary spring-tide high-water, would 
this^ if a &ct, prove that there can have h&Qn no change of 
level t The answer to this question depends, of course, on 
the habitat of the species, and the vertical range of the tides 
in the district. 

Mr. Bate, a very competent authority, informs us that the 
Balani belong to the species Balantcs balanoides, of which 
Mr. Darwin says, in his Monograph on the Balanidse,* "I 
doubt whether the species ever lives below the lowest tides. 
..... This species lives on rocks at both the uppermost 
and lowest limits of the tides. I am informed by Mr. 
Thompson," he adds, 'Hhat he has seen specimens attached 
to a spot not covered by water during neap-tides." From this 
passage I infer : — 

1st. That in ordinary cases they are covered by every 
high-water. 

2nd. That cases of their being left dry at neap-tide high- 
water are so rare, that Mr. Darwin, a gi'eat traveller and a 
student of the Balanidse, has never seen an instance of it. 

3rd. That the Balani under discussion may represent any 
level from spring-tide low-water to neap-tide high-water, or, 
possibly, spring-tide high-water. 

I learn from Mr. Cox, Trinity Agent at Appledore, that 
the vertical range of the tide in Barnstaple Bay is about 
28 feet at spring-tides, 12 feet at neap-tides, and 24 feet from 
spring-tide low- water to neap-tide high- water. It is obvious, 
therefore, that if the Balani are now at the spring-tide high- 
water level, they are not incompatible with an elevation of 28 
feet; and if they are above the reach of the highest tides, 
there must have been an upheaval equal at least to the excess, 
and possibly equal to that excess plus 28 feet. 

In order, however, to test the correctness of the inference 
to which the botanical facts had led us, we re-visited the 
ground when the tide was in, selecting the period of half-an- 
hour after high- water, when we had the pleasure of finding 
that the level of the lowest edge of the balauus zone was 
fully ten feet vertically above the mark left on the rocks by 
the highest waves that evening. 

♦ **A Monograph ou the Sub-Class Cirrepedia.** By Charles Darwin, 
F.R.R, F.o.a Published by the Ray. Society, p. 272, 1864. 



54 THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAT. 

The evidence before us then is this : — 

Ist That there is a very distinct wave-worn rocky terrace, 
above the reach of the highest tides, and upwards of 20 feet 
above the existing corresponding strand immediately below, 

2nd. That on this terrace there is, in many cases, a bed, 
sometimes four feet thick, composed of pebbles and well- 
worn boulders, some of which are fully two feet in diameter. 

3rd. That overlying this conglomerate, there is a series of 
sharply-defined beds of indurated sand, frequently containing 
shells, which, in their condition and arrangement, resemble 
such as are thrown up by the waves on a tidal strand. 

4th. That, though by no means of frequent occurrence, 
instances of beds of pebbles at higher levels than that of the 
basal bed sometimes present themselves. 

5th. That between Saunton Down -End and Braunton 
Burrows, a zone of Balani exists 10 feet vertically above the 
reach of heavy waves at equinoctial spring-tide high water. 

6tL That over the sand beds there is commonly an accu- 
mulation of sub-aerial materials, sometimes attaining the 
thickness of fully 100 feet. 

From the forgoing evidence, it appears that the inference 
is not only safe, but is inevitable, that in times so recent as to 
be within the advent of the molluscous fauna of the district, 
there has been an upheaval of the district generally, which 
was so uniform in its character as to leave beds still horizontal 
which were primarily so ; that, though geologically recent, it 
was nevertheless sufficiently ancient for the adjacent hills to 
have furnished, through sub-aerial action alone, the thick 
mass of clay and stones which now overlies the beach ; and 
that the change of level was probably from 24 to 30 feet 

Though it may be neither safe nor needful to insist on it, I 
incline to the opinion that the huge boulder of granite already 
mentioned confirms the doctrine of upheaved. Whencesoever 
it came, there can be little doubt that it was ice-borne — its 
transportation required more than wave power merely. Now 
the specific gravity of ice is about eight-ninths of that of 
water, hence, in floating ice, every foot in height above the sea 
level betokens eight feet in depth below; and when freighted 
with boulders and rock debris, the submerged portion is, of 
course, correspondingly greater. An ice raft or berg may drop 
its burthen in deep water, through melting whilst afloat, but 
it cannot possibly carry it to high-water mark, since it would 
necessarily be stranded in several feet of water. But at 
present, if we may trust the lichens which grow near, but 
below it, the highest tides fail to reach the level of the 



THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAT. 55 

boulder. I am not unmindful of the fact that waves alone, 
though they cannot transport them across deep channels and 
seas, may be capable of moving large blocks on a sea beach ; 
but I know of no instance of their proved ability to move 
such masses as that under consideration. It has been thought 
worthy of record, that in very violent gales huge masses of 
limestone have been transported fix>m the southern to the 
northern slope of Plymouth breakwater; but the heaviest 
blocks recorded to have been moved there weighed fix)m two 
to five tons each ; whilst the granite boulder is certainly ten 
tons, and probably much more. 

But to return to the beach. I am not prepared to state 
that there is not, in any instance, blown sand overlying the 
true marine beds, and imderlying the angular '' Head." There 
is no a priori improbability in such a supposition. Indeed, 
there is reason to believe that at the Eaised Beach, at Hope's 
Nose, Torbay, such a succession actually occurs. 

Before closing this paper, I will call attention to a pheno- 
menon which occurs in the Baised Beach on the north side of 
Barnstaple Bay, but which I have not met with in any of the 
other Devonshire beaches. In several places there are cylin- 
drical or sliffhtly conical shafts (locally "chimneys"), some ex- 
tending to the depth of several feet in the sand beds, and others 
passing quite through them. They vary in size from a foot to 
upwards of three feet across. Here and there on the upper 
surface of the beds, there are depressions more or less circular, 
several inches deep, and apparently shafts in the first stage of 
formation. These, as well as those which, though much deeper, 
do not pass through the beds, are partially filled with loose 
sand of precisely the same kind as that of which the beds 
consist; and not imfrequently similar sand lies below the 
bottom or lower end of such as completely traverse the beds. 
Occasionally, in consequence of the waste of the cliff, vertical 
sections of some of the shafts are exposed, when it is found 
that, on their concave walls, the horizontal edges of some of 
the laminse of sand stand out in slight relief, as if they had 
3rielded to the excavating agent less rapidly than had the 
laminae above and below them. In venturing on the follow- 
ing speculation respecting their origin, I am influenced by 
the hope of inducing some one to take up and work out the 
subject, rather than by a settled conviction of its truth. I 
incline, then, to the opinion that rain secures a lodgment in 
such chance depressions on the surface as may present them- 
selves ; that, in virtue of carbonic acid which it contains, it 
dissolves the cement which holds the grain of sand together 



56 THE RAISED BEACHES IN BARNSTAPLE BAT. 

— which is probablj^icalcareous matter derived from de- 
composed shells ; that^ in periods of continued drought, the 
water evaporates, the winds disperse much of the dry loose 
sand, but communicate a rotary motion to the residue, and 
thus produce the cylindrical or sub-cylindrical form of the 
shafts ; and that by repetitions of these processes the shaft 
is gradually deepened until it passes completely through the 
sand beds. 

Though I am deprived of the pleasure of coming to the 
same conclusion as my friend, Mr. Bate, I can and do thank 
him very cordially for having suggested, may I not say ne- 
cessitated, a reconsideration of the phenomena connected with 
the splendid Baised Beaches of Bc^nstaple Bay. 



THE 

EAELY HISTORY & ABORIGINES OF NORTH DEVON, 

AND THB SITE OF THE SUFPOaED CIMBBIG TOWN ABTAYIA. 
BT J. B. CHAITTEB. 



In a paper which I recently read at the Literary Institution, 
on the ancient roads in the neighbourhood of Barnstaple, I 
took occasion to notice the very early history, or rather the 
absence of any early history, of North Devon. Not only 
do the ancient Geographies and Itineraries, such as those of 
Ptolemy and Antonine, and the Commentaries of CsBsar, 
ignore all distinct or special reference to this portion of the 
country, but the Mediaeval and Monkish Chronicles of old 
English History are nearly equally silent ; so that, with tlie 
exception of a slight notice in the Chronicle of Eichard of 
Cirencester, and a passage or two in the Saxon Chronicle, 
Asher's Life of Alfred, and the Acts of Stephen, we have 
actually no written record whatever of the early Topography 
of this neighbourhood. All the so-called Histories of Devon 
pass lightly over the early history and antiquities of its 
Northern portion, and are for the most part Histories of the 
Middle and Southern parts only. Polwhele explicitly says, 
" Over the Northern division of the county, the glances of 
the historian should be very rapid, as the remains of an- 
tiquity attributable to earlier ages are of a dubious nature." 

In the paper referred to, I pointed out the remnants and 
traces of many ancient roads, radiating from this town as 
from a centre; and where we find such traces, there we 
see evidences of ancient population; and though we have 
no written record of the people who inhabited this district 
in the anti-historic period, still it is impossible to con- 
ceive but that it must not only have been thickly popu- 
lated, but in a comparatively civilized state, in very early 
times. The successive waves of men that have passed over 
the land have left traces as indelibly inscribed beneath our 



58 THE EARLY HISTORY AND ABORIGINES 

feet, as the light ripplfts of the ocean in former eras of the 
globe have graven themselves upon the sandstone shores of 
the pre- Adamite world ; we have thus preserved to us tokens 
of the original inhabitants. The traveller on the lonely 
wildernesses of Exmoor and Dartmoor comes upon the circular 
foundations of the huts of the ancient Britons, and the 
marks of their hearths are yet observable, stained with fire 
and smoke ; or descending into the valleys, he comes upon 
ancient British roads, deeply sunken chasms worked out of 
the living rock, apparently by the feet of thousands of men, 
with their beasts and herds passing over the same for ages. 
And again in Coombs and Headlands adjoining the S^t — 
favourite resorts of the aborigines — ^he may find thickly 
scattered deposits of flint flakes and implements, relics of 
their industry. Scarcely any of the Commons or Downs, now 
or late, covering such large portions of North Devon, but 
betray more or less relics of early cultivation ; and scarcely 
a hill but is crowned with an ancient fortress — some of 
immense extent — Barrow, or place of Sepulture, betokening 
an extent of population in earlier eras totally unrecorded, and 
which can now scarcely be imagined. 

Before proceeding to trace the little that has been handed 
down by record, tradition, or indubitable remains, with refer- 
ence to the early inhabitants of North Devon, I would point 
out that our aborigines and early history have marked lines 
of difference from the rest of the county of Devon. They 
were inhabited by different races ; and although the whole 
district in the Boman period passed imder the general name 
of Danmonium, the series of hills, then termed generally 
the Jugum Ocrinum, formed a grand line of demarcation 
between North and South, which was never thoroughly an- 
nihilated until after the Saxon Heptarchy ; and the country 
to the north thereof was inhabited by a distinct race previous 
to, and perhaps for some time subquently to, the time of 
Athlestan, who is recorded to have driven the aboriginal 
British, or " Heathens," beyond the Tamar, and to have then 
pushed on to Barnstaple, and established himself there. 

The origin of the aborigines of North Devon is, of course, 
involved in the same darkness as the rest of the country, and 
without noticing the fabulous Histories of Geoff'ry of Mon- 
mouth, Neniiius, and others, attributing the first peopling of 
Britain to the Trojans, who landed at Totnes ; or the Phoe- 
nicians, who traded with Devon and Cornwall, and formed 
settlements on our coasts, certain it is that at the time of the 
Koman invasion, England was peopled by a variety of distinct 



OF NORTU DEVON. 59 

tribes, of whom Csesar in his Commeutary notices that he 
found the Belgse inhabiting the sea coast of the Southern 
parts. 

In the Geography of Rolemy, who flourished about a.d. 
138, is a general description of the Western peninsula, in 
which the whole is described as inhabited by the Danmonii. 
But the only reference to the North of Devon is to Hartland 
pointy as the promontory of Hercules; a name given it by the 
Phoenicians, whose galleys must often have passed along this 
coast in their explorations of the so-called Cassiterides ; and 
as in their voyages they rarely ventxired out of sight of land, 
in sailing between the lofty Lover's leap at Hartland point on 
the one hand, and the isolated rock of Lundy, which early 
writers called Herculea, on the other, they may have attached 
the names of the Pillars of Hercules to those Headlands, 
from the supposed resemblance to the Pillars of Hercules 
guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean ; for both names. 
Pillars of Hercules and Promontory, have, we find, been given 
to this locality in early Chronicles. 

Polwhele asserts that the Phcsnicians were undoubtedly 
carrying on a trade of some consequence at Hartland point ; 
and he also states, but without naming his authority, that 
they erected two pillars there in honour of Hercules; and he 
attributes to the township of Herton the most remote anti- 
quity. This neighbourhood was undoubtedly an imi)ortant 
station of the Eomans, who connected the sm^ port Clovelly 
( Vallis Glausa) with the entrenchments on the hills above by 
a military road ; and this place has also been suggested by 
Polwhele as the site of the lost British town " Artavia." 

Ptolemy gives a list of the towns and stations of the 
Danmonii, but all that he names were in South Devon or 
Cornwall, and the Itinerary of Antonine, which is more parti- 
cular and exact as to the roads, stations, and cities of Britain 
when under Eoman sway, is totally silent as to this; and 
though there are two large camps, which are undoubtedly 
Koman, and appear to have been permanent stations, and 
several smaller square earthworks on the roads connecting 
them; yet there are no grounds for believing that the Komans 
ever gained a permanent footing in North Devon, nor ever 
formed any settlements in the interior, as the two Camps 
referred to, Hartland and Countisbury, are at the extreme 
ends of the district, and both on the sea coast ; and no ruins 
or vestiges of buildings have ever been found, and but very 
few coins, weapons, or other evidences of possession, so 
frequent in other parts of the county. 



60 THE EARLY HISTORY AND ABORIGINES 

Among the various monkish chronicles or histories of 
Britain, written during the middle ages, only one, Richard of 
Cirencester, who is supposed to have lived about 1350, has 
left us any record referring to the aborigines of North Devon. 
In describing the West Country, he says, '' In this Arm was 
the region of CimbrL Their chief cities were Termolus and 
Artavia. From hence, according to the ancients, are seen the 
Pillars of Hercules, and the island Herculea not far distant 
From the Uxella a chain of mountains called Ocrinum, 
extends to the promontory known by the same name. 

" Beyond the Cimbri, the Comabii inhabited the extreme 
angle of the island, from whom this district probably obtained 
its present name of Comubia (Cornwall). Near the above 
named people on the sea coast towards the south, and bor- 
dering on the Belgse, lived the Danmonii, the most powerful 
people of these parts, on which account Ptolemy assigns to 
them all the country extending into the sea like an arm. Their 
cities were Uxella, Tamara, Volubia, Coenia, and Isca the 
mother of alL" He also goes on to remark, as an explanation 
of the little notice by Ptolemy and others of the cities of the 
Cimbri, that» as the Bomans never frequented these almost 
desert and uncultivated parts of Britain, their cities seem to 
have been of little consequence, and were therefore n^lected 
by historians. 

The learned Mr. Whitaker, the historian of Manchester, in 
reviewing the ancient Chronicles, lays it down that the 
Danmonii were the Belgic invaders, and that the aboriginal 
inhabitants of Devonshire were the Cimbri ; some of whom, 
in consequence of these invasions, emigrated to Ireland, 
while others continued to occupy the North-west of Devon ; 
and it is suggested by Lysons, that the numerous remains of 
fortresses in North Devon were probably formed by the 
aboriginal Britons as a defence against the attacks of the 
Belgae and other invaders. The situations of many of these 
earthworks show that this is probable, some of the oldest and 
most primitive character being in close proximity to others of 
a different form, and in positions showing them to be the 
works and strongholds of contending tribes ; and in a few 
places, on the line of what are supposed to be Boman roads, 
camps apparently of a later period, and of more perfect 
form, and therefore attributed to the Bomans, are placed very 
near some of the supposed British towns or stations, and 
may, therefore, be considered as scenes of the later struggles 
between the natives and the invading Bomans. An instance 
of this occurs in Boborough camp near Barnstaple. 



OP NORTH DEVON. 61 

The Cimbri, who appear to be merely tribes or portions of 
the wide-spread Celtic, or, as it is now the fashion to call 
them, Keltic nations, arrived in Britain from the Cimbric 
Cheraonesns or Holstein, at some pre-historic period, and 
established themselves in the northern parts of England, 
giving their names to Cumberland and Northumberland, and, 
as has also been suggested, to the ancient inhabitants of Wales 
the Cwmri and Cambria Hordes from thence pushed south- 
ward and westward, until, as we have seen, one tribe became 
isolated in Cornwall and North Devon ; and I find in a note 
to a curious and learned book by Gknifery Higgins, ''The 
Celtic Druids," a suggestion that the Umbri and Cimmerii of 
Italy were colonies of the same race, and possibly the North 
Devon tribe gave name to Umberleigh near Barnstaple, as the 
place of residence of their chief. This suggestion is rendered 
probable from the well-known extreme antiquity of the 
Manor of Umberleigh, it being stated that Athelstan, after 
his victories over the aboriginal Cimbri and the Danish in- 
vaders, pushed on to Barnstaple, which our records describe 
as having been even then a fortress, and there is a tradition 
that Umberleigh was then taken as a royal habitation by 
Athektan, and it continued an appendage of the crown for 
many centuries. 

Westcote, in his View of Devonshire, describing the sepa- 
ration of the Danmonian provinces, and the advent of the 
Saxons after the retirement of the Komans, says, " They came 
as loving friends to aid and assist the Britons, but perceiving 
the fertility of the land became tyranising and supplanting 
enemies, seizing upon the best part and expelling the natives, 
some unto Wales, others to Armorica, and driving the re- 
mainder unto the deserts of Danmonia; then the British 
name began to decline." 

Although the principal parts of Devon were thus inhabited 
and held in common, as it were, by Britons and Saxons during 
several centuries, and were not wholly subdued by the Saxons 
until at least 465 years after their first landing in Britain, the 
northern portion of Devon appears, equally with Cornwall 
and Wales, to have been very little if at all intermixed with 
the Saxon invaders, and the dialect of the ancient Britons 
to have prevailed here. So late as a.d. 615, Keynegils, 
king of Wessex, gave battle to and defeated the Britons 
at Bampton, driving them further westward; but in the 
year 960, when Athelstan commenced his victorious cam- 
paigns against the aborigines, driving them, as history in- 
forms us, across the Tamar and into the deserts, which, of 



62 THE EARLY HISTORY AND ABORIGINES 

course, can only apply to the ranges of mountains and barren 
downs still marking the limits of North Devon, and which, 
in Eoman times, were the boundaries of the Soman settle- 
ments, although the old British or Celtic element still pre- 
dominated in North Devon; yet, as we know from actual 
record that Athelstan penetrated to Barnstaple, the gradual 
fusion of the Saxon and British races probably then com- 
menced, from whence the present race of inhabitants sprung, 
as thenceforth there is no record of any conquests, betttles, 
or enmity, between the British and Saxons, or any exact 
period at which the former name disappeared fixjm history. 

Risdon specially alludes to the unconquered Britons retain- 
ing a part of Devon, and to their dukes or governors being 
sometimes chosen out of Wales, and sometimes out of Corn- 
wall, until about A.D. 689 ; and at that period the district of 
North Devon must have been the only line of communication 
and great highway between these two important branches of 
the Keltic Britons; and the small Coombs and Ports, of which 
there are so many in North Devon, exactly opposite, and 
in sight of the coast of South Wales, would have been 
in all respects suitable to the small vessels or caravels then 
in use ; in fact, the Cornish Celts could have had no other 
means of communication, either with Wales or Ireland, 
without launching out into the open ocean, as the north coast 
of Cornwall is bned with lofty cliffs, and almost without 
harbours or means of access. We have also the authority of 
Risdon, that Cornwall in the time of the Heptarchy included 
all that part of Devonshire which was possessed by the 
unconquered Britons to the westward of Exeter. 

The number of stone pillars, kromlechs, and other Druidical 
monuments which still remain, or which there are records 
of having been in existence, scattered over various parishes of 
North Devon, though now mostly destroyed or buried under 
the sod, are very great, and indicate a considerable Keltic 
population, and the district was probably a seat of their 
religious ceremonies. A large number of supposed Druidical 
remains, consisting of single pillars, stone circles, and lines of 
upright stones, have been recorded. One, formerly in existence 
on Mattock's Downs, has been fully described by Westcote, as 
consisting of two great stones or pillars about nine feet high, 
with two parallel I'ows or ridges of twenty-three other smaller 
stones ; but the most striking Druidical remains are at the 
Valley of Rocks at Lynton, which Polwhele says, he has no 
hesitation in pronouncing as the favourite residence of Druid- 
ism. The learned antiquaries Lyttleton and Mills have 



OF NOETH DEVON. 63 

attempted to trace these remains, believing them to be the 
seat of a Druid Grorseddu. This Gorseddu lies opposite to a 
pile of rocks called the Cheesering, and even now lines of 
stones forming very enigmatical figures may be traced, and in 
the central part are several p4ain circles of stone about forty 
feet in diameter ; but every generation makes the difficulty of 
arriving at any idea of their primitive form and disposition 
more difficult. There are large cumulations of stones on 
various parts of Exmoor, and across the Downs on the west 
side thereof, and in North Molton are lines of stones set in 
the ground along the summits of the hills. One stone pillar 
still remains near Beunstaple, in the grounds of Broadgate 
House, giving the name to an adjoining estate Longstone. 

I have before noticed the large number of earthworks, 
tumuli, and barrows, scattered over the North of Devon far 
more thickly than in any other part of the county. The 
barrows and cairns may be almost described as innumerable. 
The generally received opinion is, that they were intended to 
mark the places of sepulture of distinguished chieftains, 
though others may be merely beacons or landmarks ; some 
of them are partially constructed of stone, though most are 
mere earthworks. Large numbers still remain, though many 
more have disappeared, from the same reasons that have 
destroyed so many camps. They are not only scattered 
singly, but also in groups. Lyttleton, the antiquarian, noted 
two or three on Bratton Down, and so many lai^e ones on 
Berry Down that he suspected they gave name to the place. 
Some of the tumuli occupy so large a surface as to discoun- 
tenance the idea of their being thrown up as a monument of 
a single individual, but would appear rather to mark the site 
of some battle, and the interment of large numbers of the 
slain in one promiscuous heap; and it has been supposed that 
the usual feature of these large barrows, a depression in the 
centre, may be caused by the sinking that would occur from 
the gradual decay and absorption of the heap of bodies 
buried beneath. 

The lines of circumvallation, earthworks, and camps, which 
are also numerous, are, of course, proofs of military jxjssession 
or military operations in the districts where they are found ; 
but at what age, or by what people, or for what purpose 
erected has, in modem times, been a matter of dispute among 
antiquaries. In the absence of all written records, it has been 
attempted to class them according to their form, as British, 
Boman, or Danish. The irregular and oval ones being 
ascribed to the early British times, and the r^ular formed 



64 THE SARLY HISTORY AND ABORIGINES 

ones, with square ramparts, to the Bomans; but, from the 
want oT records or credible authority, we are as much in the 
dark about the authors of the greatest part of the earth- 
works and tumuli with which the district is studded, as 
we are with those discovered in the remote parts of North 
America. Popular and local traditions are also equally mis- 
leading, as in some localities all these earthworks are commonly 
called Danes' Castles, in others Boman Camps, in others, 
more superstitious, Pixies' Houses. It is well known that 
the Eomans frequently repaired and adopted the old forts of 
the Britons, so that many are of a mixed and irr^ular 
character. Some of these encampments — castles as they are 
locally called — have been identified with some approach to 
certainty, but by far the larger number are enveloped in 
impervious obscurity ; and the progress of agriculture of late 
years, which has led to the enclosure of commons, the removal 
of the old banks and fences, and the levelling of rough surfaces 
of land for the plough, has obscured almost all, and totally 
obliterated many, of these monuments of our predecessors. 

There is, however, one other subject connected with North 
Devon which I wish now to discuss, — the site of the lost 
Cimbric town of Artavia. The most distinct notice we have 
of this town is in the Geography of Bichard of Cirencester 
before referred to. In describing the different tribes which 
inhabited Britain, he named their principal cities, and among 
them Termolus and Artavia, as cities of the Cimbri in North 
Devon. " Urbes illis prcecipuos Termolus et Artavia,'* He 
also gives a map of the tribes and cities. I am aware that 
doubts have recently been raised as to the authenticity of the 
work ascribed to Bichard ; but these doubts are mostly of a 
critical character, arising from the suspicious circumstances 
under which the work first came before the public, and some 
discrepancies in the text itself. Such discrepancies are not 
only common in ancient chronicles, . but are more than 
counterbalanced by the admitted accuracy of the local de- 
scriptions, whenever susceptible of proof by local investi- 
gations, and by the majority of his statements being confirmed 
by older or contemporary chronicles. In this case the actual 
existence of the Cimbric towns is confirmed by the anony- 
mous geographer Bavennas, who names "Termonin" and 
" Mostevia" as two towns in the western peninsula, not far 
distant from Isca. The Bishop of Cloyne, in endeavouring to 
explain this difference in names, adverts to the fact that 
Bavennas composed his work from a Greek map, and that the 
Latin Greeks always disfigured foreign names and places, of 



OF NORTH DEVON. 65 

which he gives several instances analogous to the present; he 
therefore concludes that Termolus and Artavia were certainly 
ancient cities in this part of the country. Folwhele says, 
that undoubtedly these places are to be considered as flourish- 
ing towns before the Bomans arrived; and in reference to the 
imaginary claim of Hartland, he says, ''There are some 
towns in the North oi Devon, which doubtless existed in very 
early times, connected by Soman ways, such as Holland, the 
Termolus, and Hartland, the Artavia of Eichard, where the 
high northern road is supposed to terminate." 

The identity of Holland Bottreaux with Termolus has been 
admitted by aU. The Bishop of Cloyne says, "I have no 
hesitation in fixing it there from its general local features, and 
the number of roads pointing to it on all sides. The two 
encampments two miles distant, one square and the other 
oblong, still mark the site of a station, near which is an 
evident proof of a raised road.'' These latter reasons, how- 
ever, would scarcely apply to the identifying an old Cimbric 
or British town, but rather to its being also a Boman station, 
which was the case, the Boman road to Countisbury meeting 
and crossing the British road at that point 

The locality, however, of Artavia is not so easily settled. 
Dr. Giles, the latest translator of Bichard, while he suggests 
the sites of almost all the other British towns, leaves Artavia 
a blank, with the note '' imcertaiu," probably in Devonshire. 

The Bishop says, ''That while he has no hesitation as to 
Termolus, he cannot speak with so much confidence as to 
Artavia. It has been supposed from the resemblance of 
name only to have been near Hartland Point ; but besides 
that, the British town in Bichard's map seems to be much 
more inland, no coins have been found, no roads traced, or 
fortifications known, except Clovelly Dykes, which are nearly 
four miles from Hartland Point." 

There are, however, other reasons for thinking that the site 
of Artavia is not to be sought near Hartland Point We may 
suppose that the early Britons chose their places of residence, 
and gathered into clusters, thus forming towns, in places 
centred as to situation, easy of access, or with some reference 
to the pursuits of the inhabitants — trading, mining, or agri- 
culture — just as other people ancient or modem are influenced. 
Now the situation of Hartland at the extremity of a promon- 
tory, and surrounded by bleak and exposed tracts of country, 
with no actual productions, and not in the line of the traffic 
anywhere, could only have been occupied for the convenience 
of proximity to the sea, or what may now be termed mercan- 

VOL. II. F 



66 THE EARLY HISTORY AND ABORIGINES 

tile pursuits. But even in this view, almost any point within 
the bay would have been preferable, as this iron-bound coast 
is only approachable at two points, Clovelly and Hartland 
Quay, both requiring the protection of Quays or Breakwaters 
to enable even small vessels to approach. But had any town 
of the then importance Artavia must have possessed, from 
there being only two cities recorded in this extensive district 
inhabited by the Cimbri, surely it would have been known to, 
and named by, the early geographers, who frequently referred 
by name to the promontory of Hercules. But my theory is, 
that this district retained its aboriginal inhabitants, and 
remained unconquered and almost unknown, up to the time of 
Athelstan, and that the utmost gained by the Somans was a 
passage through the land, from Countisbury by way of 
Holland, and thence by the supposed Roman road through 
the Landkey valley to Clovelly, where alone we find any 
extensive military works, and that the few undoubted Soman 
camps in North Devon were mere garrisons to keep this 
road open. 

Where, then, are we to look for Artavia ? Bichard's map, if 
worth anything at all, shows it several miles in the interior, 
and to the south of the promontory of Hercules. But this 
map is very incorrect in its outline, omitting the deep inlet of 
Barnstaple Bay altogether, and showing a smaller indentation 
to the south of HarUand Point instead* Richard adds, how* 
ever, one most important description : " From hence, according 
to the ancients, are seen the Pillars of Hercules, and the island 
of Herculea not far distant" " Visuntur hie ArUiquts sic 
dicioe, Hercvlis Columnoe, et non prociU hinc, insula fferculea." 
Here we have an important help to ascertain the locality, and 
the choice is limited to the points from which Hartland Point 
and the island of Lundy, which has been identified with 
Herculea, can be seen. The view of these two points can be 
.had from the coasts of Barnstaple Bay, and from many of the 
high grounds for some miles inland ; but as there is neither 
history, tradition, nor any indubitable relics to help us, the 
only other means of fixing the exact spot are probabilities, 
from convenience of situation, analogy of name, or evidences 
of ancient traffic or roads. This probability of situation has 
been mainly used in fixing MoUand as the site of Termolus, 
and an imaginary resemblance of name was the only ground 
for ever suggesting Hartland as the site of Artavia. 

I have now to offer the theory that Barnstaple is the site 
of the town or city of Artavia of the Cimbri It appears 
to unite, more than any other locality, the various arguments 



OP NOBTH DEVON. 67 

and oonsiderations which have been brought to bear in fixing 
the sites of other ancient towns. Its extreme antiquity has 
always been recognized, though for various reasons which I 
have dwelt on on former occasions, we have no historical 
notioe previous to the time of Athelstan, who conquered and 
took possession of it The probability arising from situation 
18 considerable ; placed in the centre of a lai^e district, rich, 
not only in its agricultural produce, but in mines of silver, 
lead, iron, and copper, which there are grounds for believing 
were worked in very early times, and probably known to the 
PhcBnicians and trading Greeks, easily accessible by water, 
which formerly were the only means of transpoi*ting such 
produce. 

The argument arising from roads, used in identifying 
Termolus with Holland, applies equally here, there having 
been a great number of ancient roads or tracks radiating 
firom Barnstaple, of which the Bishop of Cloyne laid down 
one as an indisputable British road connecting Barnstaple 
with MoUand. 

Polwhele remarks on the fact of there being a regular chain 
of earthworks running from Barnstaple to the north-east, the 
date or purpose of which he could not fix ; there are also, as 
we have already seen, numerous similar relics in the large 
and almost peninsular district of which Barnstaple may be 
called the key, and almost the only means of approach to. 

I do not place much reliance on the map of ancient Britain 
attached to the early editions of Richard; but it is curious to 
notice in it, that while Barnstaple Bay is altogether omitted, 
the island of Herculea or Lundy is delineated considerably to 
the south of Hartland Point, but in the same relative position 
to Artavia as Lundy is to Barnstaple ; so that assuming the 
oonstructer of that map to have made an error in placing 
Barnstaple Bay to the south instead of the north of the 
promontory of Hercules, in such case the situation there 
given to both Herculea and Artavia would be almost exactly 
the actual relative situations of Lundy and Barnstaple. 

Lastly, analogy of nama Richard, writing in Latin, would 
naturally Latinize the names of places, at least in termination ; 
Termolus and Artavia are clearly Latinized words, not 
British ; but in the last syllable we have almost indubitably 
the old British name for river— water, and particularly the 
river which flows by Barnstaple — Taw; and would appear by 
the name itself to mean a town situated by a river. Taw, 
Tavy, Tawridge, TafF, are all variations of the same Celtic 
word. But take the full name itself, without the Latin 

F 2 



68 " THE EARLY HISTOBY AND ABOBIOINES 

terminal, Artavia, Artav or Artaw ; here we have at once an 
extraordinary coincidence with the ancient name of Barn- 
staple, Abertaw. This Leland derives from the British Aber, 
mouth, and Taw, Tav, river. But Barnstaple is not at the 
mouth of a river, but rather the head of an estuary or navi- 
gable portion of the river ; and, therefore, Leland's derivative 
has no foundation. A local writer some years since, noticing 
this obscurity, made a suggestion that Appledore was the 
ancient Abertaw; but it is sufficient in answer to this to 
point out that Appledore had no existence three centuries 
since, it having arisen at the period when Bideford entered 
so largely into the trade with the newly discovered American 
Colonies, and rose to the dignity of a seaport, in consequence 
of the shipping being obliged to lie there when the tide was 
low. Westcote, writing about 1600, states, that before his 
time there were but two poor houses there. 

It is strange that no one has heretofore noticed the remark- 
able coincidence of the old name of Barnstaple with Artavia, 
as it is equally probable that Abertaw, as spelt by Leland and 
Westcote, was a corruption of Artaw, and that the derivative 
from Aber is imaginary, as that Artavia was a Latinized form 
of the old British name which Leland gives. In either case 
the analogy and resemblance is far closer than has been as- 
sumed in numerous other cases of supposed indentity of places. 

Such are the grounds on which I base the theory that 
Barnstaple is " the lost city of Artavia of the CimbrL" 

These several silent records of the early importance of 
North Devon refer to the pre-historic age. I would, in con- 
clusion, name a few others, which show that within the 
historic periods there have been local features which, although 
scarcely referred to in the existing histories of Devon, show 
that it continued to possess considerable importance and a 
large population. 

One of the most decisive defeats ever sustained by the 
Danes, and which led to most important results in the resto- 
ration of Alfred, occurred near Kenwith Castle, at the mouth 
of the Taw, in 878, with a slaughter of 1200 of the invaders, 
and the capture of the celebrated Haven Standard; and 
several other encounters with the Danes took place in this 
neighbourhood. 

Although the Phoenicians are only recorded to have traded 
with Devonshire for tin, yet it is well known that they also 
visited the northern coasts, and had probably settlements 
here ; and we find that from an unknown period mines of 
iron, silver, and lead, have been worked in North Devon. 



OF NORTH DEVON. 60 

The silver mines of Combmartin are recorded as being 
wrought^ and producing immense sums in the reigns of 
Edward L, Edward III, and Henry V. Polwhele asserts that 
mines were worked by the Somans in North Devon for iron. 

Very considerable remains of ancient mining are to be 
found at North Molton. In Eisdon's time mounds of earth 
and deep works of unknown antiquity were to be seen. On 
Ezmoor also are still visible deep rugged ravines, shafts, and 
heaps of cinders, now thickly covered with turf, called locally 
the Danes' works ; and there is a local tradition that the trees 
on Ezmoor (still called the Forest, although centuries since it 
was a treeless waste as it is now,) were cut down and used to 
smelt the iron. 

An important evidence in favour of the ancient importance 
of the North of Devon, is the historical fact that at the 
extension of the local Episcopates to the western provinces, 
just 1000 years since, the archbishop of Canterbury, at the 
command of the king, erected three new cathedral churches: 
one at Wells, for the county of Somerset ; one at Bodmin, for 
Cornwall; and one at Tawton, for the county of Devon. 
Hooker thus states it : " Werstanus was the first bishop, who 
fixed the Episcopal chair at Tawton, a small village about a 
mile and a half to the south of Barnstaple, which from thence 
retaineth the name of Bishop's Tawton to this day. At a 
provincial synod, holden in Wessex A.D. 905, he was conse- 
crated bishop of Devon, and had his See at Tawton aforesaid, 
where having sat one year he died, and was buried in his own 
church there. His successor was Putta, who also resided at 
Tawton ; but as he was on his journey to Crediton, to visit 
Uflfc the king's lieutenant there, he was by some of UfFa's 
servants barlwirously slain on his way thither. This proved 
the occasion of removing the Episcopal chair from thence 
unto Crediton." 

I have only glanced at some few of the historical facts 
tending to show the continued importance of this district ; 
the remote and isolated position of which, however, appears 
to have been the cause of its being so seldom referred to in 
the chronicles of England, and this applies to the compara- 
tively modem as well as ancient periods ; of which Kichard 
says, that as the Bomans did not frequent these almost desert 
and uncultivated parts of Britain, their cities were n^lected 
by historians. But the facts which have at various times been 
brought together concerning North Devon, tend to show that 
its history deserves more attention than has heretofore been 
paid it 



DEVONIAN FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 

BT STR jomr BOWBnrO, LL.D., T.&.8. 



The recollections of Pixy, Witch and Ghost Stories are 
associated in my mind with those of an old servant, whose 
name was Mary Tapp. She was my nurse ; and I remember 
she used to sing over my crib at evening — 

« Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 
Bless the bed tiiat I lies on : 
Four angels bless the bed. 
Two at me fbot, and two at the head." 

She, like most of the domestic servants of those days, was 
unable to read or write, and I, a little boy, was the depositary 
of her love -secrets, and was chosen for her amanuensis in 
her correspondence with her lovers. She always steurted with 
the same words, "This comes with my kind love to you, 
hoping to find you in good health, as it leaves me at present ;" 
and then came the perplexities as to what she ought and 
ought not to say. She had several pretenders, as she was 
rather pretty in her youth, stately in her walk ; indeed, I have 
heard her called "Pasteboard" by critical observers. Among 
her lovers were a blacksmith and a tucker (the name and the 
trade have departed now from Exeter). In favour of the 
latter it was alleged that he wore a beautiful green apron 
with scarlet strings; while the former had a dirty leather 
apron. But the blacksmith, when washed, was the better 
looking of the two. And I arranged more than one walk at 
early mom, when a string was put out of the window, which 
was attached to Mary's great toe, and which the blacksmith 
was gently to pull, in order to announce his coining. Mary 
had amassed a little money, and when it was suggested that 
one of her admirers might be looking to her purse instead of 
her person, she answered, " She did*n know why she should'n 
be courted for her money, as gentlefolks was." There was a 
standing joke in the family, that when, after taking opinions 
as to the merits of one of her suitors, she said, " His legs was 
a little crooked ;" she was answered and comforted with the 



DEVONIAN FOLK-LOBE 1LLU8TBATED. 71 

lemark, "Never mind that, Maiy; a friend in-(k)need is a 
Mend indeed." Characteristic of the position in those days 
whicli servants held in the household of their masters, in 
which thej considered themselves to possess rights of domicile 
almost equal to those of the serfs {adscripti glebce) on the 
land, I remember she returned "home" to the kitchen after 
the death of her husband, where my mother found her seated 
on a chair, and she said, '' Here I be, missis, come back to 
the old place." She was dreadfully afraid of sperrUs; and 
when she went into the garden in the dark, used to make me 
her companion, and tell me the current stories of the Devil's 
doings ; of the Wise Men (of whom there were several profes- 
sion^ in Exeter); the Witches, who mostly lived in the 
country; the Pixies, whose kingdom was Dartmoor; and the 
other marvels picked up at market or in colloquies with other 
servants. Maiy was a character for study. Blest with a 
saving knowledge, she always drank, that they might not be 
wasted, the dregs of all sorts left of the bottles of medicine 
{trade was the (ud Devonian name), and picked up the apples 
that were thrown away, as they were often too good, she said, 
to be lost. I learnt firom Mary many of the nursery songs 
which have been since collected, illustrated, decorated, and 
form a part of our national literature. I never saw a magi)ie 
or magpies without counting whether they were one, two, 
three, or four, always remembering the legend : " One for soitow, 
two for mirth, three for a wedding and four for death ;" and 
my mind was afterwaixis relieved by a line of Wordsworth, 
who sings of <me auspicious magpie that crossed his way. To 
find a horse-shoe, to carry about a crooked sixpence, were 
tokens of luck ; but the tickings of the death-watch and the 
howlings of a dog at the door were certain prognostications of 
eviL She loved to revel in horrors. There was an old edition 
of the PUgrinCa Progress, with a dreadful picture of ApoUyon, 
which I stabbed witii a fork in my indignant hatred, and she 
talked to me of the terrors of hell, presenting to me a highly- 
coloured engraving with the true efiOgies of the '' screeching " 
sinners in the burning sulphurous lake, whose agonized 
bodies the devils were turning over with red-hot pitchforks. 
There was a story of Satan having knocked down with a 
Bible the keeper of the Exeter Gaol, who had denied the ex- 
istence of his infernal majesty; and another story of his said 
majesty having ridden all the way from St. Thomas's to 
Moretonhampstead behind a farmer, who fainted with firight 
when he reached his door. Ghost tales were multitudinous. 
Jeremy Bentham told me, that he in his childhood had been 



72 DEVONIAN FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 

80 terrified by the descriptions his nurse had given him of 
these visitations, that he was never to the end of his days 
in the dark without requiring a mental effort to get rid of 
the delusions which had been so deeply engraved on his 
earliest memories; and I may own, that such impressions 
tormented me long after my reason had taught me their 
absurdity. 

I recollect seeing Mary — she had got old, and looked very 
like a witch — with a live cat round her neck, which she used 
for a tippet in winter to warm herself, and held the four 1^ 
in front The parish in which I was bom was full of legen- 
dary lore. A female saint had lived in the churchyard. In 
those days the church, now one of the ugliest that architec- 
tural aberration has ever erected, was charming for its pic- 
torial beauty — ivy-covered, "with Gothic arches peeping 
through the green;" it was frequently sketched, and I re- 
member to have seen more than one engraving of the 
venerable edifice. The churchyard was the receptacle for 
persons of all opinions. In it was buried the famous heretic 
James Peirce. The incumbent of the day would not allow 
a laudatory inscription. He should not be " reverend," for he 
was a Dissenter ; he could not be " learned," for he did not 
believe in the 39 Articles ; he could not be " pious," for he 
denied the Trinity; so the name only of " Mr. James Peirce" 
was inscribed on the tombstone, and his virtues were recorded 
in a flattering tribute, to be seen in the vestry of the Pres- 
byterian meeting-house, in South Street, Exeter. Near the 
St. Leonard's Chapel is Parker's Well, once believed to possess 
miraculous virtue, and even in my remembrance the well was 
crowded at early mom on account of its healing water. There 
was a stone in one of the waUs of Mount Radford which was 
thought to be the petrifaction of a human face, and there 
were some dreadful tales about its being the hiding-place of 
a sperrit that sometimes stopped passengers, and seized 
children. The nursery-maids used to hurry by as fast as they 
could with their charge. Few are now living who even 
remember the tradition, but it was recalled not long ago to 
my recollection by a lady who has passed her eightieth year. 
In a field near Matford Lane, in the same parish, was a ruined 
house, which had the reputation of being haunted. I believe 
it was the resort of smugglera, who availed themselves of the 
horrors which the evil reputation of the place inspired to 
carry on their deeds of darkness. Supernatural sounds were 
frequently heard — shrieks and the clanking of chains, and as 
nothing is so prudential as prudence, people generally deter- 



DEVOmAK FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 73 

mined to keep out of danger's way. In those days a ghost, 
clad in white, was reported to come out of the graves in the 
churchyard opposite the Devon County Hospital, and to look 
over the gate, which opened upon what was then called 
Narrow Southemhay Lana Passengers avoided the spot; 
and it was only after a drunken man had seized the ghost 
by the beard — it was an old goat, that had been trained by 
some mischievous wag to stand on his hind legs and put his 
head over the gate — that the way became frequented again. 

With most reverential respect for my guide, but with a 
certain amount of terror, I, when quite a child, accompanied 
in his walks a man (his name was Cox) who had the repu- 
tation of superhuman knowledge. I never heard him called 
a wizard, but he was universally believed to be marvellously 
wisa He generally spoke in solemn tones, and looked some- 
what scornfully and proudly even upon those whom he hon- 
oured with his notice. The book which he studied was some 
obscure Albertus, (not Magnus,) who had brought into the 
vegetable world the alchemy which the greater Albert had 
applied to the mineral. He took me to the fields in the 
neighbourhood of the "Old Abbey" and the "Ducks' Pond," 
where he sought in the ditches the plants from which he was 
to make the "Elixir Vitte," the water of life, whicli, he assured 
me, if it did not give immortality, would prolong existence 
to an indefinite period. He had prepared several bottles of 
the precious beverage, but by some mishap he failed of suc- 
cess in his own case, and took his secret with him to the 
grave, having lived, as far as I recollect, less than half a 
century. 

I remember being seated with the justices at Ashburton, 
when two men were brought before them charged with steal- 
ing books from the music-loft of a village church. The 
churchwarden declared that he had consulted a wise woman, 
who, on a former occasion, had enabled him to recover a 
silver coflfee-pot, and she had described the accused. Being 
sent for, the woman boldly declared that she " knowed they 
was the dheeves." She had " shuvvill'd the cards," and found 
the initial letters of their names, and sure enough, she re- 
peated, "they be they." Murmurs of applause filled the 
room, as if the auditory were the guardians of her reputation, 
and delighted at the earnestness with which she asserted her 
daims to supernatural knowledge. She was remonstrated 
with by the magistrates ; told she would be brought up as an 
imposter, and probably treated as a rogue and vagabond ; but 
she smiled complacency on the audience, nodded her head as 



74 DEVONIAN FOLK-LORB ILLUSTRATED. 

if in triumph, and left the room, having by her courage added 
new strength to the credulity of her neighbours. 

I knew an instance where a body of miners, in consequence 
of the loss of a jacket belonging to one of them, went to 
consult a "wise man," who pointed out one of their number 
as the thief, and, though there was not a shadow of evidence 
against him, they demanded his dismissal, refused to work 
with him, and made his existence so uncomfortable that he 
bowed to the storm and left the locality. 

Astrologers, reckoners of nativities, sellers of love-philters, 
herbalists, supposed to be acquainted with the mysterious 
powers of plants, both creative, curative and destructive, 
exist in many parts of this county, and to this hour are con- 
sulted by the peasantry, of which now and then evidence is 
brought before the magistracy. The palmistry of the gypsies 
has still a hold upon our rustic population. 

The fading away of these ancient memories belongs not 
only to our generation: it is lamented by the father of English 
poetry, by Chaucer himself, who, after speaking of the 

" Olde dayea of the king Artour, 
Of which, that Britona speken gret honour, 
AU was the land fiilfillM ot faerie ; 
The elf queene, with hire joly compagnie, 
Danced rail oft on many a grene mede.*' 

And then he sorrowfully says : 

'* This was the old opinion, as I rede — 
I speke of many hundred years ago, 
But now can no man see non elves mo." 

Wife of Bath, v. 6439, 66. 

Shakspeare however, and assuredly he caught his inspiration 
from our western regions, re-creat^ and re-peopled the fairy 
kingdom, and under his magic sway, to use his own words, 

«* Every elf^ and £Eury sprite, 
Hopped as light as bird from brier." 

Midsummer Nighfe Dreamy v. 2. 

Ariel is one of the most beautiful and original creations of 
Shakspeare's wonderful genius. Delicate, cUtinty Ariel is, in 
fact, 

"A spirit finelv wrought, 
And to fine issues ; 

but wrought out of such rude materials as are found in pixy 
land. "Bodied forth" by the pictured imaginings of that 
mighty mind, the airy nothings are work^ into images 
which are almost palpable to the senses, and of which we 



DSYONIAK FOLK-LOBB ILLUSTRATED. 75 

fed, that if they are not^ they might well have been. A 
Magyar poet asLi, that in the cosmogony of thought our 
great drainatist was a central sun, whose brightness, the more 
and more studied, will be the more and more recognized and 
teverenoed. 

With what charms of poetry he invests the services which 
Ariel renders to his master ! 

"To fly, 
To Bwim, to dive into the fire, to ride 
On the onrl'd clouds.*' 

" To tread the ooze of the salt deep.*' 

" To run upon the sharp wind of the north, 
To do our business in the veins of the earth 
When it is bak'd with fix)st." 

And so the power of Puck to 

" Put a girdle round 
The earth in forty minutes." 

Shakspeare's fancy revels in his descriptions of &iryland, 
whose iidiabitants 

" "Wander everywhere, 
Swifter than the moone's sphere ; 
Swing about the fairy queen. 
Dewing her orbs* upon the green." 

" With fair, blessed beams. 
Turning to yellow gold her salt green streams." 

Singing the favoured ones to sleep with divine music, 
looking for dewdrops, hanging pearls upon the cowslip's ear ; 
the cowslip, 

« The queen's pensioner in gulden ooat. 
Spotted with rubies." 

And I would notice by the way, that there are many 
pretty poetical associations with flowers among our Devonian 
peasants, who explain the name of the larger celandine 
{Chdidaniv/m majtts) swaHow-wort, by saying it is because the 
swallows brighten the eyes of their young by anointing them 
with the juice ; and lamb*8 lettuce (corn-salad — Fedia olitorid), 
which they suppose to be created for the use of the tender 
youth of the flock. 

Nor are the comic features wanting where the goblin fairies, 
of whom Puck is one of the busiest — "Puck, whom most 
men call Hobgoblin," plays his mischievous tricks, hurrying 

•* Over hill, over dale, 

' Thorough bush, thorough brier, 
Over park, over vale. 
Thorough flood, thorough fire ;" 

♦ Fairy rings. 



76 DEVONIAN FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 

frightening the maidens, skimming the milk, stopping the 
grindstone, bewitching the chum, not allowing the beer to 
ferment, breaking the threads of the spinsters, and playing 
hundreds of fantastic tricks. 

Even the delicate Ariel, in the service of Prospero, con- 
descends to torment the wicked and drunken sailors, leading 
them while they, " calf-like, followed" through 

'* Tooth'd briers, sharp fiirzes, pricking gorse and thorn. 
Which entered their frail shins. At last we left them 
In the filthy-mantled pool beyond your cell, 
There dancmg up to the chins that the foul lake 
Outstretched their feet" 

He even brings elves and fairies into comparison with 
witches, 

'* Who round the cauldrons sing, 
Like elves and furies in a ring." 

And Milton makes Queen Mab herself condescend to eat the 
farmers' junkets, while the girl tells of being " pinched and 
pulled," and the lad is misled by the friar's lantern. Drayton 
is more elaborate in his detcdls of what happens to the un- 
fortunate who fall into the clutches of these fim-enjoyiug 
imps; for 

*' Once the circle got within. 
The charms to work do straight begin, 
And he was caught as in a g^ ; 
For as he thus was busy, 
A pain he in his headpiece feels. 
Against a stubbed-tree he reels, 
And up went poor Hobgoblin's heels : 

Alas ! his brain was dizzy. 
At length upon his feet he ^ts ; 
Hobgoblin fumes, Hobgoblm frets ; 
And as again he forward gets, 

And thro* the bushes scrambles, 
A stump doth hit him in his feice ; 
Down comes poor Hob upon his fece. 
And lamentably tore his case, 

Among the briers and brambles." 

NymphiduB. 

Though the many-coloured descriptions of the lands of 
enchantment much resemble one another, and are genendly 
pictures of what this world might be if we would separate 
its joys from its sorrows, its harmonies from its discords, its 
beauties from its deformities, and divest our humanity of 
those conditions which make us mortal, I will, for the pur- 
pose of comparison, introduce a poetical sketch of the elf- 
country from eastern Europe, which I have translated from a 
Magyar romance : 



DEVONIAN FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 77 

*' Winter oomes not there, the frnitB and flowerets blasting ; 
But there reigns a spring of beauty everlasting : 
There no sons are seen ascending and descending, 
Bnt a gentle light — a dawn-time never ending ; 
There they fly about on never wearied pinions, 
Death was never known in those divine dominions ; 
There no thoughts are found of idle earthier blisses, 
But they live a life of loves and joys and kisses ; 
Grief has there no tears, if tears are ever fi&lling. 
They are only tears, hope, happiness recalling ; 
And when tears are droppied, m marvellous transformations, 
All the tears are turned to diamond constellations ; 
And the Uxty children, midst their songs and dances. 
Heavenly rambows spin of the gay light that glances 
From those radiant eyes, and warp them in the fringes 
Of the evening clouds, like those whic^ sunset tinges. 
There are beds of flowers — sweet violets, scarlet roses — 
Where they lay them down, and when the eyelid closes, 
Odorous zephyrs fan the senses, and romances 
Other than their own awake their playful fancies ; 
Emerald fields are spread, which, uoto. the mom to even, 
Washed by ftagrant dews, refreehing dews from heaven. 
Never lose their leaves, and never drop their flowers — 
Withered not by cold, nor crushed by tropic showers. 
These are dreams — all dreams, from fS&iry land ideal." 

Fetdji, 

Most of ihe operations of the pixies, like those of the 
fiedries, are carried on in the night. Butler compared their 
proceeding with the unforeseen visitations of fortune, that 

" Does all men's drudgery and work. 
Like fairies, for them in the dark." 

But the hours of moonlight are chosen for the revels and 
dances of the pixies, who are supposed to seek retired and 
shady spots in the sunshining hours, either to rest or to con- 
trive their plots of mischief, to be carried out after the sun 
has gone down. 

Milton attributes to the goblin some of the tricks practised 
by the pixies, and makes his " fairy strength " serve the pur- 
poses accomplished by their agility : 

•* The drudging goblin sweat 
To earn the cream-bowl, duly set, 
When in our night, ere glimpse of mom, 
The shadowy flail had threshed the com 
That ton-day labours could not ond ; 
Then lies him down, the lubber fiend. 
And, stretehed out all the chimney* s length, 
Basks at the fire bis fairy strength. 
Then, cropfiil, out of doors he flings. 
Ere the first cock his matin sings. 

A farmer, living in the north of Dartmoor, told my in- 
formant that his brother had caught a pixy, and kept him 



78 DEVONIAN FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 

for some time in a lanthom. Threshing wheat for those whom 
the pixies favour with their auspices is one of their wonted 
amusements. And on one occasion the favoured farmer, 
having entered his bam, found a whole troop of pixies busied 
with their flails. " Niver/* he said, " did I see such drashers 
as they was." He looked on for some time, and at last one 
said to the other, " I twit; don't you twit (sweat) ?" and per- 
ceiving they were intruded on, they all ran away, except one, 
who stumbled and fell. The farmer caught him, and put 
him into his lanthom, where he lived for some time ; but one 
night the farmer left open the door of the lanthom, and just 
as the mistake was about to be repaired, out jumped the 
pixy, saying, "Here I goes; here I goes;" and the farmer 
never saw him again. 

A story not less amusing is recorded in the curious collec- 
tion of the Folk-Lore of I^ncashire, where rabbits' holes are 
commonly called fairy houses, and are believed to be places 
of retreat for the little community when suddenly surprised. 

It is said that some poachers, who had covered the mouth 
of the hole with their bags, fancied they had secured their 
prey, and ranning away with their bags on their back, were 
alarmed at hearing, 

" Dick ! Dick ! tell me quick, 
Where art thou?" 

And the answer was, 

'* In a sack. 
On aback. 
Biding up Bushy Brow." 

It may well be believed that the sack was soon dropped. 
The poachers took to their heels, and we are assured they 
poached never again. 

The pixies ill-disposed towards the peasantry employed 
themselves in entangling the long manes and tails of the 
horses on the moor, the combing of which was not only very 
difficult, but brought evil to those who interfered with their 
impish work. These are the horse-hags described by Shak- 
speare: 

"That very Mab 
That plats the manes of horses in the night, 
And bakes the elf-locks in foul sluttish hairs, 
Which, once entangled, much misfortune bodes." 

Momeo and Juliet, 

This superstition has not died out. Mr. Pulman says, that 
only a short time ago a veterinary surgeon of Crewkeme was 
sent for to prescribe for a valuable horse belonging to a 
gentleman of a neighbouring villaga On his arrival at the 



DEVONIAN FOLK-LOBE ILLUSTRATED. 79 

stable, he was assuTed by the groom, with much solemnity, 
that the animal was saffering, not from any disease within 
the reach of medicine, but from the baneful effects of " horse- 
haes." The proof of this the groom pointed out in the 
animal's mane, which had evidently, as he averred, been 
twisted into the usual knot-ladders, by means of which, it 
wonld appear, the ** hags " are in the habit of mounting to 
the head of their victims, for the purpose of worrying them. 
He could account for the mysterious knots in no other way, 
and was much disappointed in being imable to persuade his 
master to " throw physic to the dogs,'' and to employ what 
he believed to be the more appropriate agency of the white 
witch. 

The pixies were said to have their tribunals : their rewards 
were to be chaiged with amusing missions, and the perform- 
ance of tricks among the rustics. One of their punishments 
was to make up bundles of sand, and to bind them with 
ropes of the same. The traditions not only speak of the 
courts held by the pixy king and queen, of the songs and 
dances, the baths in the granite fountains, their sudden 
migrations when interrupted, their vengeance upon those 
who doubted their existence or disturbed their revelries, but 
they are reported to have held their regular markets and 
their fairs, particularly on Blackdown, near Taunton, return- 
ing from which town they were often seen by the farmers 
and their wives, who avoided going too near, as they inflicted 
grievous diseases on those who had the boldness to approach 
tiie place of their resort* 

A lady writes to me: — "An acquaintance of mine was 
some years ago in the neighbourhood of Newton, in this 
county. She there met an old farmer, who related to her the 
following anecdote from his own experience. He had kept 
his bed for some time, and his illness had quite baffled the 
doctors ; in fact, he was thought to be dying. Those about 
him advised that he should be laid in a grave newly dug for 
a young woman. [I believe the proper time for the ceremonial 
is the midnight hour.] An opportunity occurring, he was 
taken from his bed to the churchyard, and placed for a short 
time in this melancholy receptacle. Strange to say, from the 
time he was taken out he began to revive, and was a hale old 
man at the time he related the story." 

A few days ago I made an exploration on the skirts of 
Dartmoor, for the purpose of ascertaining what remains of 

* Keightl67*8 Fairy Mythology. 



80 DEVONIAN FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 

pixy lore. I will give the answers from two men and two 
women, which may be taken as specimens of the state of the 
peasant mind. '' Have you any pixies in this neighbourhood ?" 
" I've yerd tell on 'em, but they be all gone now." " Well, 
what have you heard about them ?" " Why they used to play 
all sorts of tricks, and trouble and carry away the childreiL'' 
"How many children have you?" "Ten; but they never 
meddled with mine. I believe they have all left the country 
now. There was a great many about here vormerly." 2. " The 
pixies, I believe, is all gone away now." " Did you ever see 
one?" "Well," the old woman said with a smile, as if she 
were entrusting me with a great secret, " I did zee one once, 
when I was a little maid — I did zee a pixy man," " How 
big was he ?" " Jist so high," said she, putting her right hand 
about eighteen inches from the ground. "And how was he 
dressed ?" " He had a little odd hat, and a pipe in his mouth, 
and he had an old jug in his hand — not like the jugs us uses 
now. They gived a great deal of trouble and plague, as I've 
yerd tell on. I never zeed but that one, and I du think 
they've gone to some other part of the world." 3. A rustic, 
who hesitated at first, shook his head, and said he "didn' 
think any ov 'em was left now," induced a woman standing by 
to say, "£es there was;" and she pointed to a high ground 
covered with granite boulders (the scene was at Lustleigh), 
and said, "You may go and zee the pixy holes for yourself up 
there. They comes there be nighit, and people goes to zee 'em; 
but they don't come out by day." " Did you ever go ? did 
you ever see them ?" She did not like to go there by night, 
but she had herself seen the " pixy holes," and she " knaw'd 
that volks did go there, and (fid zee 'em in the moonlight." 
One of the company asked what they could find to eat in 
that wild place ? and the answer was, " Perhaps 'twas mush- 
rooms." " Oh," said one of the listeners, " then they did not 
get any thing to eat for more than six weeks of the whole 
year," when a rustic wit responded, " Perhaps they lam'd how 
to pickle 'em." We got now into the subject, and a middle- 
aged man broke out that he "knaw'd" something about two 
pixies that was caught in a bam "drashing the com, and that 
wan was caught, and t'other hum'd away; but he'd tell me 
what he knaw'd, for twam't only dree yers agone, when he 
zeed how the pixies did tangle the manes of the horses, in a 
way that no mortal hand and no machine could do, and that 
once he drived thirty-five colts from the moor, and that vive 
ov 'em had their manes traced (tressed), and won tum'd into 
a horchard, and his mane was cort in the branch of a happle 



DEVONIAN FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 81 

tree, and he tared hissdf away, and left the mane, and most 
bativulTit was, and he took it and gived it to his master, and 
he was sorry for it ; for if he had it now he wid'n sell it for 
▼ive shillings." 

There were a good many pei'sons present, and most of them 
agreed that the pixies did still tangle and tress the manes of 
the horses on the moor, so that there was no combing it 
smooth again, and that the knots must be cut away. 

One of the old Devonian superstitions, that it always rains 
on a Friday when the other days are dry, and that it will be 
dry on Friday when it rains on other days, is preserved in 
the proverb, 

** Friday and the week 
Never aleek (alike)." 

To which an addition is sometimes made, traceable to 
Catholic times, 

'* Bain Sunday before mass, 
Bain aU the week, more or lass (less)." 

Another is, that the study of the milky- way will enable 
the observer to foretell the state of the weather. Mr. Pulman 
tells me he has heard that portion of the heavens called the 
rishe. He reminds me of the veneration for bees among the 
Devonian peasantry, adding, "At a funeral their hives are 
turned; and it would be considered prolific of evil if their 
inmates were not immediately informed of the death of any 
members of their owner's household — a person carefully 
whispering the news at their hives." In turning their hives 
at Hawkchurch, some years since, and also near Colyton, the 
bees resented the intrusion by attacking the funeral proces- 
sion, and putting it to flight. In one case the parson was so 
stung as to be laid up for a week. The nailing of a horse- 
shoe over the stable door and elsewhere is still regarded as a 
security for " luck." . 

I have seen no collection of traditions associated with the 
Yeth-hounds, the wild dogs of the heather, who are engaged 
in hunting the spirits of unbaptized infants, so that they can 
find no resting-place in their graves. Their bowlings have 
been reported as frequently heard — naturally enough in 
stormy weather — and their presence witnessed always after 
the setting of the sun. They are represented as headless, 
which, though not very consistent with their bowlings, may 
have added to their mysterious character. The gallitraps, or 
feyed-lands, on which if a criminal placed his foot he could 
not be released till the priest removed the charm which held 

VOL. II. G 



82 DEVONIAN FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 

him, and the justice sentenced him to be hanged; the curatiye 
powers possessed by adders and by witches* blood when the 
vein was opened by a rusty nail ; the wicked workings of the 
evil eye; and the many devices by which the plottings of 
the infernal one might be counteracted, would afford subjects 
for diligent investigation, and many contributions might be 
made to Mrs. Bray's Traditions, and to the curious notes 
which Mr. Baring Gould has lately furnished to Henderson's 
Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties, 

I am afraid the credulity and ignorance of our peasantry 
will not be deemed very creditable to the Devonian repu- 
tation, though they afford materials for amusing and instruc- 
tive speculations; yet every body must have been struck with 
outbreaks of sagacity; and the sharp and original sayings 
even of some of our "town arabs" and "rural bom" might 
be worth preserving. The other day I was going near a street 
crossing, where a dirty, ragged boy was vigorously using his 
broom. Another boy, somewhat better clad — he could scarcely 
be worse — was passing. "Gimmer a hapney?" said the 
sweeper. "A hapney !" was the reply; " I han't got nort but 
vive pun notes in my pocket" 

The poetical spirit of the Greek and Soman mythology is 
visible in the very names and attributes of those fanciful 
creations, to which the grosser minds of less civilized nature 
gave ruder forms and characters. They had the Dryades for 
the woods, the Kereides for the ocean, the Naiades for the 
mountains and the streams, the Orcades for the mountcdns ; 
but they were all subordinate to the supreme authorities, and 
not like the ancient independent deities of the Chinese, 
supreme gods of the harvest, of the seasons, of the rain, of 
the winds, and of the various elements of heaven and earth. 
The Lamice, whose habits resemble those of the fouler imps, 
hags, and hobgoblins of the north, occupy but little space in 
classical pages. These she-devils sucked the blood and de- 
voured the corpses of children ; but there is no grandeur in 
their history such as attaches to that of Saturn, whose canni- 
balism, even though sacrificing his sons, is made poeticaL 
While among the Greeks, Echo was the plaintive voice of a 
woman, 

" Pinmg midst solitudes in secret love," 

the Scandinavians had fancies of their own, and attributed 
Echo to imps who mocked the utterances of mortals. 

Though most nations have their imps, elves, fairies, goblins, 
pixies, and other super-human or ultra-human entities, who 




DRVONIAN FOLK-LORB ILLUSTRATED. 83 

have more or less to do with mortal concerns, and possess 
more or less of the attributes of mortal men, they are usually 
divided into two classes — the benignant and the malignant ; 
but tibey have caprices and courses of their own, not to be 
measured by our standard. The Duende of the Spaniards, 
though generally hostile to our race, is sometimes well-dis- 
posed; the IhiendecUlo, though frisky, is almost always 
amiabla The Fada of the Portuguese is synonymous with 
the F4e of the French ; but the word when used by the 
Castilians ordinarily means witch. In Italian the Fata is 
supposed to possess powers of enchantment ; in fact, Incan- 
iairiee is often used as a word of corresponding meaning. 
Aristotle gives a melancholy report from the lips of one of the 
fairies, that, doomed to every other suffering, they are saved 
from that of death — 

*<Dellefate 
lo sono una : ed il fatale stato, 
Per &rtd ancor saper, ch' importe ; 
Nascemmo a un punto chi d'ogni otro male, 
Siamo capaci fuorche deUa morte." 

One of ihe fates I am, whose destiny 
I wiU revesd, if it concern thee. We 
Were bom to every other misery. 
To every misery; but not to die ! 

The Germans have adopted F^e from the French (using the 
feminine gender); but they have their Kdbold (hobgoblin), 
for which the French word is Farfadet, who is as often a 
humorous as a mischievous elf. The Spack is a mysterious 
spectre — the SpogeUe of the Danes — the Spoke of the Swedes, 
though both have introduced Fe, from Faerie, an old Norman 
word which has come down to us, and which in French has 
the form of a verb {f^er — refier) as well as a noun. 

The Dutch call fairies nimf, or toavemimf (nymph, magic 
n3rmph). The Eussians, though they have adopted the word 
Fea, have a Slavonic designation of their own — Tohhebnitza, 
which nearly corresponds to our sorceress. It may be doubted 
whether the local word Bogie, Bogle (Scotch), Boggart (Lan- 
cashire), is derived from the Celtic Baogh — a femcJe devil, 
dwelling in rivers, with attributes resembling the classical 
Lamia. The Celts believed in a more amiable elf, to which 
they gave the name of Sith, or Sithich ; but it is not difficult 
to trace the affinity of the Danish Spogel, the Spog of the 
Norman, the Spuck of the Germans, with our own Fuck and 
Picksie, and the Fuke of the Icelanders. 

A very charming fancy is that which has given personality 

G 2 



84 DEVONIAN FOLK-LOBE ILLUSTRATED. 

to the Fata Morgana; and it is easy to understand how the 
beautiful appearances of this remarkable phenomenon have 
been turned to account by the imaginative mind. I have 
seen the mirage on the AMcan desert — a many-coloured pic- 
ture outrolled over the burning sands. The Magyar peasant 
has a hundred traditions connected with the visits of the 
Delibab, the guardian spirit of the Hungarian Puszta — the 
wide, wild plains on the Dauubian banks. There is a moigana 
of the water, another of the air, another of the land. MiJiasi, 
who describes its appearance on the Italian lakes, gives pic- 
tures which it would requii-e the skill of a Claude to realize. 
When its vision dawns, he says the people are transported 
with delight, and run towards the sea, shouting, "Moigana! 
morgana!" Fata, as we have seen, means fairy; and the 
Sicilians call the exhibition, castles of the morgana fairy. 

Many theories there are as to the causes of this curious 
display, which is sometimes coloured with all the tints of 
the rainbow — a theatrical exhibition of passing shadows of 
castles, and palaces, and fields, and forests, and even armies 
of men. "Aerial moving pictures," they are called by M. 
Hoel. 

I mention these as evidence of the manner in which the 
human intellect is captivated by all mysterious beauty, and 
how easily superstition creates its idols out of the wonders 
which common observation cannot explain. Our fairy-rings, 
our Jack-in-the-Lanthorn, the Aurora Borealis — whose early 
appearances in England are described by historians as battles 
of fierce heavenly warriors — the shooting -stars, the stones 
from heaven, and all not understood phenomena, have afforded 
abundant materials for credulity to work on, while they have 
been deemed worthy of the investigation of some of our most 
eminent philosophers, and have furnished imagery for many 
a popular poet. 

It is the habit to trace back to classical antiquity most of 
the superstitions which exist among us ; so the Persian Peri 
and the Arabian Djin are the fancied progenitors of the fairy 
and the pixy races. But these creations are only varioxis 
forms of a universal element — the desire to discover agencies 
which may account for phenomena obscure or unintelligible 
to the ordinary sense. The Chinese certainly have adopted 
none of the traditions of the West ; yet their books are full 
of kweiy or spiritual agents, some friendly, some unfriendly 
to man. Superhuman forms, the personification of good and 
evil attributes, are among the fictions and the fancies adopted 
by the human race as soon as it emerges from the lowest 



DEVOKIAK FOLK-LORE ILLUSTRATED. 85 

^pnuie of barbarism ; and if they assimilate to one another, 
it is not so much becaase they emanate from a common 
origin, as that they represent the tendencies of a common 
natoia They accommodate themselves to local conditions 
and dicnmstancea I had once a black guide, who conducted 
me through the tracks among those huge granite boulders, 
covered with mysterious inscriptions, which separate Upper 
Egypt from ancient Ethiopia — the country probably of the 
Esaenes. (Assouan is the modem name of the principal town.) 
No region can afford grander materials for tradition and imagi- 
nation to illustrate. On the adjacent Nile are the beautiful 
ruins of the marble temples of Isis and Osiris ; in the desert 
magnificent rocks and wild recesses, peopled with ghosts and 
genii ; and at every step my companion had some wondrous 
tale to teU of what he himself knew to have happened, or 
what he had heard from undoubted authority. So in the 
Holy Land, I was provided with a Mascara, whose duty it 
was to relieve the tediousness of the journey by narrating 
stories such as those which may be read in the Arabian Nights, 
but which were usually associated with the history of the 
district through which we travelled. Sir Walter Scott was 
in the habit of entertaining his guests with the romantic 
l^[ends of the hills and the vales and the rivers in the dis- 
tricts through which he conducted them. In truth, man is 
everywhere man, and everywhere fond of the marvellous. 



ON PRISON DISCIPLINE 

BT E. VrTIAW, J.P. 




As a committee was appointed at the last quarter sessions 
of this connty, on the motion of our first President to 
investimte and report upon the whole question of prison 
disciplme^ and the introduction of industrial labour into our 
prisons, it misht seem premature to bring the subject before 
this Association ; but as a member of that committee, I am 
very desirous of obtaining an expression of opinion in this 
town, and amongst the agriculturists of North Devon, who 
are supposed to be mainly affected by the proposed changes. 

I may assume that punishment should not be vindictiye, 
or simply retributive ; it remains, therefore to consider it as 
either reformatory or deterrent. 

The formation of habits, either good or bad, is in some 
measure simply the jMissive result of a train of thought or 
action ; but it is expedited and confirmed by the development 
of right motives, and the proposal of suitable objects for 
attainment. Occupation, both of mind and body, is essential 
to their health. In the language of Dryden, we may thus 
apostrophise even the " hard labour" of our jails : — 

** Offispriiig of woe, and parent of our ease, 

The toil which teaches pleasure's self to please, 
' Allays the rtief which spurns direct control, 
And stills the raging tempest of the soul." 

Imprisonment without labour of some kind should be alto- 
gether banished from our prison system. Idleness is a habit 
more readily acquired than industry, and, paradoxical as it 
may appear, is at first even more irksome than compulsory 
labour. In the instance which I referred to at the sessions, 
a hard working, industrious man, committed for four months, 
without hard labour, assured me that he would not only have 
preferred the treadmill, but that, however much against his 
will, he was acquiring habits of idleness of body and reck- 
lessness of mind, which would, if continued, unfit him for 



ON PRISON DISCIPLINE. 87 

his former occupation. He obtained speedy permission to 
work in the governor's garden, or I believe his anticipations 
would have proved too trua An idle " rogue and vagabond " 
would not have felt this; so that imprisonment without 
labour has the additional evil of being inversely proportioned 
in its severity to the deserts of those upon whom it is im- 
posed. 

There is no difficulty in making industrial labour suffi- 
ciently onerous ; indeed, beyond a certain amount it ceases to 
have a beneficial effect, and can only be advocated as being 
deterrent Hood thus moralises in one of his humorous 
sketches : — 

" Poor P^gy hawks roses from street to street, 
Tfll — tlunk of that to whom life's so sweet — 
She hates the smeU of roses." 

The middy who passes his examination, after hard cramming, 
nails up his Euclid, and consigns it to the deep ; but it may 
be doubted whether the second nature of industrious habit 
does not always rise again in after Ufa The material at 
least is there accumulated ready for use. 

The question now immediately under consideration is, 
whether penal labour should be reformcUory or deterrent. In 
the Devon County Prisons hitherto, the latter has been prin- 
cipally adopted. Labour is made degrading by the unpro- 
ductive use of the cranks ; and a treadmill is now ordered, 
'wjtdch, will not be applied, even as at first proposed, for 
grinding com. Labour without production is doubly irksome 
to those who retain any feeling of industry, whilst the con- 
sciousness that they are a mere burden to those who impose 
the punishment, instead of earning the cost of maintenance, 
affords a malicious satisfaction to the depraved. The ex- 
posure on the treadmill, especially to visitors, is also an 
aggravation of punishment, felt most by those who retain a 
sense of shame ; it is therefore open to the objections which 
have led to the discontinuance of the pillory and stocks, or 
the moral penalty which, in the use of the lash, is superadded 
to corporal suffering. Self-respect — Verecundia custos omnium 
virtutum — cannot be too carefully husbanded. 

Solitary confinement and the silent system alone are objec- 
tionable, on the ground that the reality is greater than the 
terror which they inspire ; they are therefore only deterrent to 
those who have actually undergone them, not to the outer 
criminal world. If unaccompanied with labour, they aggravate 
the evils of compulsory idleness, and deteriorate both the 
intellectual and the moral faculties. 



88 ON PRISON DISCIPLINB. 

Under our present system punishment is continued even 
during the night. For six weeks prisoners are compeDed to 
sleep upon plank beds. If we analyze this, the d&comfort 
must be felt either whilst awake or asleep. If the former, it 
would surely be preferable that the time in bed should be 
shortened ; and it is difficult to conceive how punishment can 
be operative during sleep, even in prison dreams. I fear the 
truth is, that broken rest adds weariness to the daily task, with 
an aching back, especially in women, and in some cases bed- 
sores, which doubly incapacitate for the resumption of honest 
industry. If corporal punishment is ever necessary, it would 
be far better to allow wholesome sleep, followed by some 
dozen lashes. 

Industrial labour is, I believe, in all respects, preferable. 
It forms or confirms habits of industry, and is most severely 
felt by the idle and profligate. It also compels the criminal 
to earn his own livelihood, instead of burdening the county 
rates. Under both these aspects prisoners may be advan- 
tageously committed for longer terms than at present^ so as 
more effectually to break evil associations, and enable them, 
under suitable regulations, to accumulate a small fund, which 
may facilitate the resumption of their former position on 
leaving prison, instead of relapsing into crime. 

On the Continent, especially in Switzerland and Belgium, 
and in America, and in some of our own prisons, the indus- 
trial system has been tried with very great success. The 
most encouraging of these is the Bedford County Jail, where 
the whole of the dietary is paid for by the prisoners' labour. 

The following is from a summary of the results recently 
published in Meliora : — 

BEDFORD PRISON. 

Sale of manufactured goods and other work done for the 
year ending 

JS 9. d. 

Michaehnas 1864 1166 15 8 

„ 1865 1552 16 11 

„ 1866 1675 9 2 

In addition to this, the whole of the tailoring, shoemaking, 
and repairs of the establishment, including the officers' 
uniform, is done within the prison. 

The amount of cash paid to the county treasurer as profits 
for 

1864 £350 

1865 450 

1866 500 



ON PRISON DISCIPLINE. 89 

From Michaelmas 1853 to Michaelmas 1866, sale of articles 
manufactured in the prison d£12,415 168. 3d., yielding a profit 
of £4286 Is. 9d, exclusive of work done in and about the 
prison, for which no charge is made to the county. 

The average number of committals for 1848 to 1852 in- 
clusive was 677, and of re-committals 213 ; but during the 
five years from 1858 to 1862, the industrial system being 
then in full working, the committals have averaged only 503, 
and the re-committals 158. 

The same principle has already been introduced, with much 
success, into our reformatories and industrial schools. The 
Devon Eeformatory for Boys, at Brampford Speke, contains 
on an average 26 inmates, and the Devon and Exeter Refuge 
for Girls 43. In addition to these for young persons con- 
victed of criminal offences, there is an admirably-conducted 
Home for N^lected Children in St. Thomas, to which, at 
the last sessions, a capitation grant of 2s. was voted. In each 
of these industrial labour is enforced, and the proceeds de- 
fray a considerable portion of the expenses. 

The objections which have been raised against the indus- 
taial system are — 1. That it competes injuriously with free 
labour. 2. That it offers a premium to vice, by enabling 
criminals to acquire a trade, thus raising them above the 
honest labourer. 

Th& first of these objections offends against the most 
elementary principles of political economy. Whatever is 
expended in the improductive maintenance of criminals must 
be withdrawn from the wages fund for free labour, — every 
additional prisoner therefore throws some industrious man 
out of employment, or adds an equivalent burden to the 
ratepayer. If instead of 1 per cent, of the population being 
in confinement 99 per cent, were dependent on the rates, it 
would be apparent to all, that the one man out of 100 who 
had to maintain the other 99 would no longer object to«their 
earning their own maintenance, although competing with him 
in the industrial market. The principle is the same when the 
proportion is reversed. 

The second objection is more plausible ; it was urged at 
the last sessions, and has been supported by the Press in the 
supposed interest of the agricultural labourer. Unquestion- 
ably, if lucrative trades were taught in our prisons, so as to 
enable the criminals to earn better wages on their discharge, 
there would be an injustice done to the honest labourer ; but 
this is not proposed. Tlie only branches of industry which 
can be acquired by adult prisoners (as mat-making and some 



90 ON PRISON DISCIPLINK 

small handicrafts) ai'e merely such as would be quite com- 
patible with their former pursuits, and would enable them to 
employ their leisure hours. If beyond this some of the more 
profligieite characters amongst the village poor were to be 
draughted off to the maniLfacturing towns, or were enabled 
to emigrate, the agricultural labour market would be relieved 
of a burden, and the utmost evil that could result would be 
a rise in wages above their present miserable level, with a 
more than equivalent reduction in the poor and county rates. 

So far indeed from this being an evil, every inducement 
should be offered to divert the growing population of the 
rural districts to more remimerative occupationa The phe- 
nomenon of 9s. a-week in the coimtry, and strikes in the 
manufacturing towns for 30s., can only be accounted for by 
the preference of the agriculturists for their healthful pui^ 
suits and old associations. On the same principle the countiy 
S(|[uire might double or treble his rental, if he were to invest 
his capitsd in manufacturing industry. 

The character of industrisd labour which I should advocate 
would be that to which the prisoners had already been 
accustomed. The agricultural labourer should be sentenced 
to work on Dartmoor ; the mechanic, in addition to supplying 
the wants of the prison, should make shoes or coats. The 
simplest mode of effecting this would be by taking contracts 
for the army and navy; but political economists would be 
under no apprehension of the labour market being injuriously 
affected if a shop were opened at the prison gates. We have 
got over the dread of the foreigner, and free trade is a prin- 
ciple which will not break down under the feeble competition 
of a few convicts. 

In the reformed l^islation of the future, I look forward to 
changes which, without undue centralization, will greatly 
improve our local administration. For the industrial system 
to he fully developed, it will be necessary to have trade 
prisons to which convicts from all the neighbouring counties 
can be sent, so as at once to be set at work in their respective 
callings, for even the shortest terms. 

If in addition to these a Eefuge were open for discharged 
prisoners, in which they could earn their living and accumu- 
late a small fund, by means of which they might regain 
employment, I believe a great number of the unfortunate, 
and not wholly vicious, would avail themselves of it. I 
mentioned a case at the last sessions in which this might 
have saved life as well as character. A wretched criminal 
who had robbed a trades' union was cast upon the world 



ON PRISON DISCIPLINE. 91 

without any possible means to support his wife and family. 
MasteiB would not employ him, men would not work with 
him. I had to commit hun to what is called " hard labour" 
fiyr leaving them chaigeable to the parish. He was only 
sentenced for fourteen days, and I warned the guardians of 
our union that when he came out he must lapse into crime. 
Within a few days after his release, reckless and drunken, he 
set fire to a relative's housa He was committed for trial, but 
cut short his life-long crime -bill by committing suicide in 
his celL The union now supports his family. 

Not the least practical advantage of a better system would 
be the lengthening of terms of imprisonment In the case 
to which I have referred, I should have certainly given nearly 
the extreme sentence. Drinking habits, which in this and 
almost eveiy similar case, lay the foundation of pauperism 
and crime, might have been broken by a long residence in 
the great teetotal establishments which ornament our coimty 
towna 

Time only can change habits; but with the careful de- 
velopment of higher motives, and by Hope aroused by the 
prospect of restoration, I believe that even the most degraded 
may yet be saved. The treadmill, like the task of Sisyphus, 
can never effect this. In the latest version of that classic 
myth, Despair is excluded even from Hades — 



" Fool ! said the GhoBt, 

Then mine at least is everlafiting hope : 
Again upheaved the stone." 

On the highest motives I earnestly commend this subject 
to your consideration. " Law and terrors do but harden," is 
the professed creed of Christendom. What is our practice ? 
The treadmill and plank beds, discharge without resource or 
hope. In proportion as our Criminal Code has been mitigated 
crime has diminished. Let us introduce the better spirit 
within our jails, and I have great faith in its civilizing 
influence. 

Skilled white slaves, consigned to an energetic contractor, 
could at least be made to earn their maintenance. ** If a man 
will not labour, neither let him eat," should be written over 
the prison wards. Let us convert this into, " The labourer is 
worthy of his hire." It has been done in Bedfordshire, why 
cannot it be done in Devon ? 

In conclusion, I may be permitted to add, that the same 
remarks apply with aggravated force to small municipal 
prisons. In this borough I find that you have an average of 



92 ON PRISON DI8CIPLINK. 

four males and thiee females ; or more exactly, seven prisoners 
and three-quarters, in your town jaiL It would puzzle the 
ablest of my opponents, if there be any, to devise profitable 
labour for such an establishment as this. Although the 
dietary is only Is. 11^. per head, the total cost is £151 ISs. 
7d. per annum. In return for this the municipality is 
benefitted to the extent of from 12,000 to 15,000 turns of 
the crank; and the muscles of the prisoners are strengthened, 
their intellect enlightened, and their morals reformed, by the 
noble art of oakum-picking. 

In criticising the system, I would not be understood as in, 
any d^ree disparaging the praiseworthy exertions of our 
visiting justices or your borough magistrates. Through their 
efforts the present administration is a great improvement 
upon the old absence of all system, when prisons were Utble 
better than normal schools of crima 




NOTES ON THE PRIORY OF SAINT MARY, 
AT PILTON. 

BT TOWNSHSKD M. HALL, F.O.S., ETC. 



Ths Priory at Pilton appears to have been in former times 
one of the most important^ as well as one of the most ancient, 
ecclesiastical establishments in the neighbourhood of Barn- 
staple, and a few notes on its history may, therefore, be of 
some little interest to the members of this Association. 

History and tradition are so much intermixed that it is 
always more or less difficult to separate between them, and to 
fix with any degree of certainty the date of the foundation of 
any building which lays claim to great antiquity. The 
assertions of Leland, Speed, and other historians, that Pilton 
Priory was founded by king Athelstan, might almost, therefore, 
be looked upon with distrust, were it not for the strong and 
independent testimony afforded us by the official seal of the 
Priory, impressions of which are still in existence. This seal 
bears on one side the image of the Virgin Mary, to whom 
the Priory was dedicated, and on the other is a figure of a 
man wearing a crown, and carrying in his right hand a 
sceptre, whilst the orb, another symbol of sovereignty, is borne 
in his left hand. That this figure is intended to represent 
king Athelstan is proved beyond doubt by the inscription 
which surrounds it : — 

" HOC • ATHBLSTANUS • AGO • QUOD • PRESENS • SIONAT • niAGO." 

The Priory belonged to the Benedictines, one of the most 
powerful orders of monks, who, even as early as the year 1354, 
are said to have possessed 37,000 monasteries in different 
parts of Europe, and could boast of having numbered amongst 
their followers no less than 24 popes, 200 cardinals, 7,000 
archbishops, and 15,000 bishops. The monks are described as 
wearing a long black robe, with a hood or cowl of the same 
colour; and hence they were frequently styled the "black 
monks." It was usually the custom for a priory to be de- 



94 NOTES ON THE PRIOEY OF ST. MARY, AT PILTON. 

pendent upon some abbey, and to be subject in a certain 
d^ree to its jurisdiction. That at Pilton is mentioned by 
Leland as forming a cell, or appendage, to the Abbey of 
Malmesbury, in Wiltshire; and the records of this priory 
show, that on two occasions priors of Pilton were thoiight 
worthy of being selected to' fill the high and responsible 
position of abbots of Malmesbury, which then ranked as the 
principal Benedictine establishment in England. 

One of the most interesting relics connected with the Priory 
at present in existence, and one which belongs to a very early 
period in its history, is now in the possession of John R. 
Chanter, Esq., vice-president of the Association. * It is a ring 
of gold found a few years ago in the neighbourhood, and 
which is supposed to have belonged to the prior. It bears 
two inscriptions : that on the back or inside of the ring is 
in Latin, 

" N0BI8CVM • BIT • IHESV • ADONAI." 

Whilst the fi*ont bears an inscription to the same effect in 
ancient Hebrew : 

In the centre is a large sapphire^ fastened, for the sake of 
additional security, with a pin or rivet of gold, which passes 
through a hole drilled in the stona I believe this ring has 
been pronounced by a good authority at the British Museum 
to date about the early part of the tenth century. 

A list of the priors of Piiton was collected from different 
documents by the late Dr. Oliver of Exeter, and was published 
in his Monasticon, It begins, however, only with the year 
1200, or nearly three centuries after the Priory was founded. 
Most of Dr. Olivers data wei^e taken from the scattered 
entries contained in the registers of Bronescombe, Stapledon, 
Grandisson, Lacy, and other bishops of Exeter; for none of 
the actual records of the monks are known to exist. They 
were probably destroyed at the time of the dissolution of the 
monasteries. 

Until the middle of the 15th century, the town of Pilton 
was separated from Barnstaple by an almost impassable 
marsh, and no direct communication could be carried on 
between the two places except by a dangerous ford, which 
oould only be crossed at low water. Pilton, therefore, had to 
maintain a kind of separate independence, and had its own 
special market days and fairs. The monks, however, are 
supposed to have possessed a private means of holding com- 



NOTES ON THE PRIORY OF ST. MARY, AT PILTON. 95 

mnnication with this town. Tradition says that an under- 
ground passage still exists between Bull-house, which is close 
to Pilton church, and the Sack-tield in Barnstaple, on which 
stood the Barnstaple Priory. No attempt has, I believe, ever 
been made to ascertain the truth of the tradition ; although 
in 1819 a subterranean passage was discovered in making the 
tan-yard at the end of Pilton bridge, it was never explored^ 
and as recently as 30 or 40 years ago the supposed entrance 
under Bull-house was still to be seen choked up with rubbish. 

I should add that Bull-house was formerly an ecclesiatical 
establishment where papal indulgences were sold. The house 
evidently derived its name from the Bidla, or seal, attached to 
these documents, some of which, for the same reason, are 
known at the present day by the name of the Pope's Bulls. 

The landed property of the Pilton Priory was not extensive, 
whilst the monks of Barnstaple possessed, on the other hand, 
several valuable estates at Puntyngdon (now called Potting- 
don), Bradford, Yemewood, and other places on the Pilton 
side of the river. This fact led to several disputes between 
the two communities about their respective boundaries, and 
the contest was not finally settled until 1435, when Bishop 
Lacy being on a visitation at Pilton. it was agreed to lay the 
matter before him, and to leave it to him to decide which of 
the two parties was in the wrong. We are told that the 
bishop examined sixteen witnesses, and, after taking nearly 
three months to consider the subject, he gave judgment in 
favour of the monks of Pilton, and confirmed their ancient 
boundaries. The historian further adds, that the worthy 
bishop, in his generosity, presented ten marks to each of the 
priories, "to keep them in good humour with each otlier." 
This, perhaps, was not altogether an unnecessary expedient on 
the part of the bishop ; for the two priories were to a certain 
degree rivals, the priory of St. Mary Magdelene at Barnstaple 
being not only of a comparatively recent foundation, but it 
was also an alien establishment, belonging to a different order 
of monks, dependent upon the abbey of St. Martin's-in-the- 
Fields, at Paris; its estates were therefore liable to confis- 
cation whenever war broke out with France. 

At the time of the suppression of religious houses, by 
Henry VIII. Pilton Priory was inhabited by only three 
monks besides the prior. The latter (John Eoss by name), 
subscribed to the king's supremacy on the third of September, 
1533, and to this deed was attached the splendid seal of king 
Athelstan, which I have before noticed. The revenue of the 
establishment at the time of its dissolution, amounted to £56 



96 NOTES ON THE PRIORY OF ST. BIARY, AT PILTON. 

128. 8d. The "temporal" possessions (such as the manor, 
&a,) being returned as yielding JE22 18s. 8d., and the "spirit- 
ual" possessions, which consisted principally of tythes and 
oblations, amounted to £33 14s. Of these a few items are 
worthy of notice, as showing the customs of that period: — 

8. d. 
Exitos decimarum lane (tythe of wool) xxx. — 

„ agnellorom (of lambs) xxj. — 

„ Yitallorum (of calves) yj. iij. 

„ porcellorom (of pigs) ij. y}. 

„ porii (of leeks) — xx. 

„ le hympe (hemp) — ij. 

„ pomorom (of apples) — xx. 

„ feni (of hay) xxiL iiij. 

„ oblacionibas xxxij. — 

The actual history of the priory would naturally terminate 
with the expulsion of the monks in the year 1533, when the 
building and adjoining estates were leased by the king. The 
principal part of the monastic buildings were, no doubt, 
destroyed, either at this period or shortly afterwards. The 
church and acyoining chapelries appear to have undergone 
but little alteration until the civil war, when the tower was 
partially demolished, and all the northern and eastern parts 
were laid in ruins. It has been popularly supposed that this 
work of demolition was carried on by the soldiers of Fairfax 
during the time they were entrenched at Fort-hill, which is 
situated on the other side of Barnstaple, and that Pilton 
Tower was cannonaded by them, " merely because it happened 
to stand a conspicuous mark within range of their shot."* 
Fort-hill is nearly one mile in a straight line from the church, 
and I believe that no cannon balls have ever been found in 
this neighbourhood of a weight exceeding 51bs. Considering 
also the imperfection of the artillery of that period, I think 
it very doubtful that any amount of cannonading would, at 
that distance, have sufficed to knock down walls of such 
thickness. It is well known that Barnstaple was re-taken by 
the Royalists after its first capture by the Cromwellians, and 
it was one of the last places which remained faithful to the 
king. The Roundheads, however, after they had taken 
possession of Exeter in 1646, again came back to Barnstaple, 
and the Royalist garrison held out till the 10th of April in 
that year, when they were obliged to surrender. As Pilton 
Tower overlooked the Castle of Barnstaple, it would most 
likely be destroyed by the victorous Cromwellians at the close 
of the contest, in order to prevent the possibility of such a 
* Memorials of Barnstaple, page 461. 



NOTES ON THE PBIOBY OF ST. BiARY, AT PILTON. * 97 

commanding situation being occupied by a hostile force, 
should any future disturbances occur. 

Amidst the general wreck of the church the parish rasters 
fortunately escaped destruction; they commence with the 
year 1569, and in some of the very first entries made after 
the partial demolition of the church, we can trace the com- 
mencement of the plague, which lasted for ten months, and 
carried oflf about 300 persons in Klton, and five times that 
number in Barnstaple. The tower was rebuilt fifty years 
afterwards, but all the ruins of the north and east parts of the 
church have been removed. Bows of dripstones on two sides 
of the tower still remain, to show the original height of the 
buildings; and the north wall of the church bears also marks 
of having formerly had a series of cloisters attached to it 

The principal objects of interest contained in the church at 
present, are a pulpit of stone, with an iron arm attached to it 
for the purpose of holding an hour glass; the font, sur- 
mounted by a singular carved canopy; two oak screens and 
monuments to the memory of the ancient family of Chichester 
(one of which contains six life-sized eflSgies). Thei-e are also 
three monumental inscriptions of considerable antiquity. The 
oldest of these, in. Latin, requests the reader to pray for the 
'soul of Bichard Chichester, who died in December; 1498. The 
others are brasses bearing date 1536 and 1540 respectively; 
but as I have already described them in the Proceedings of 
the Society of Antiquaries,* I will not trespass upon your 
time by alluding to them further. 

* P»>oeedlDgs of the Society of Antiqaarians, voL iil, page 320. 



VOL. II. 



ON THE REMAINS OF ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS 

IN THE NEIGHBOUEHOOD OP BIDEPORD. 



BT JOHN AUGUSTUS PARBT. 



Thx time which can be allotted to each paper read at this 
meeting is of necessity ao limited that piefatory remarks 
should be dispensed with. Still, in this instance, it is essen- 
tial to call to notice the characteristic features of the country 
around the quaint old town of Bideford, and its very peculiar 
adaptation for the purposes of safety and defence as carried 
out by our Celtic ancestors. The Britons, and indeed most 
savages, seem by the same instinct to have adopted similar 
modes of defensive warfare, fixing generally on bold promon- 
tories and isolated positions at the termination of lines of 
elevated land for their fastnesses ; and such situations being 
here found in abundance, the remains of ancient entrench- 
ments and camps are accordingly scattered in many directions. 

The solution of the interesting question as to the original 
constructors of these fortified camps it would be almost vain 
to attempt ; but dim and misty conjecture points to bygone 
ages, in which the neighbourhood of the great estuary of the 
two important rivers Taw and Torridge was, perhaps, more 
thickly populated than it is even in our own time ; and some 
modem researches, carrying a tolerable balance of probability, 
lead to the belief, that these encampments existed so long 
anterior to the Boman conquest, that all traces of the time of 
their construction were lost even at that period. The most 
plausible conjecture seems to be, that many successive races, 
following that which raised these works, used them for pur^ 
poses of warlike observation and defence; and that these 
identical sites have been successively attacked and defended 
by different peoples. 

It is believed, that long before the commencement of the 
Christian era, incessant warfare had been waged along the 
southern portion of England by the Belgic branch of the 

H 2 



100 ON THB REMAINS OP ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS 

Cimbri coining across from Gaul, on the Celtic branch, which 
had ages before immigrated into Britain, probably from more 
northern parts of Europe; and as the latter were slowly 
but gradually driven from their fortified positions, these 
positions were occupied by the conquerors, as they fought 
their way northward. As the opposing forces thus respec- 
tively progressed and retreated, they erected mutual defences, 
and buried their dead along the whole range of hills running 
east and west. The various defences of the Celt would, as 
they fell into the hands of the Belgse, be appropriated and 
altered by the latter for their own use. The Romans probably 
turned the same sites to their account; afterwards the Saxon 
and Dane did the same ; and each people, it is probable, left 
behind them some slight trace of their own individuality, so 
that this confusion will account in some measure for the 
numberless theories that have been from time to time advanced 
on this subject. 

There is an unspeakable charm attendant on the recoUeo- 
tion of ages long past by, and, to reflective minds, there is an 
intense interest wound round even trivial circumstances, when 
found connected with the history of generations which the 
mighty hand of time has long since swept away. But^ 
fascinating as is that part of me subject, I must proceed 
with a description of some two or three, as I believe, ancient 
British fortifications in the neighbourhood of Bideford. 

It will naturally be surmised that i*eference will be first 
made to those immense and ancient earthworks known 
familiarly as the •'Clovelly Dykes," a short description of 
which was given in this very room only a few months since 
by one of the most talented members of the institution, but 
so graphic withal that I have some diffidence in even following 
his footsteps. These huge and wondrous memorials of remote 
antiquity stand at a distance of between 9 and 10 miles from 
Bidelbrd, on the turnpike road leading to Stratton and Hart- 
land, just beyond another road which, turning to the right, 
leads to Clovelly. They abut on, and are close to, both sides 
of the angle formed by the two roads, and can scarcely be 
looked at without awe and admiration. They consist of three 
distinct and almost concentric entrenchments, each having its 
agger or embankment, and vallum or ditch ; the embankment 
varying from 15 to 25 feet in height, and the bottom of the 
ditch being nearly level, and from 20 to 30 paces in width. 
The inner of these entrenchments is of nearly oblong fonn, 
and is 130 paces long and 100 in width at its northern 
extremity, tapering away to 75 only at its southern end. The 



IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BIDEFORD. 



101 



outer circumvallation, embracing, of course, the other two in 
its circuit, is more than 400 yards from side to side, north to 




OloTeUy Dykes. 

south, and encloses above 20 acres of land. But this outer 
work, as also the middle one, is of irregular form, being in 
some places straight, then with corners slightly rounded off, 
and so curvilinear in others, that the somewhat oblong form 
I have said the inner work bears, becomes in the others 



102 ON THE REMAINS OF ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS 

entirely lost. The space interveniug between the inner work 
or entrenchment and the second or middle one varies from 
20 to 30, and in some few places extends to 35 or 40 paces, 
while the space between the second or middle embankment 
and the outer one is in certain parts nearly as wide as the 
former, but it is in other portions more contracted. Besides 
these three almost perfect lines of circumvallation, there is 
on the east side an extensive outwork, with double bank and 
fosse, the inner of its embankments being from 15 to 20 feet 
in height, with good wide ditch. This outwork is of a per- 
fectly ci*escent shape, and is only cut off from the main works 
by the road to Clovelly, which passes through both its horns, 
and it is highly probable that the principal entrance was at 
this spot. 

Again, a little westward of the main encampment are two 
stupendous outworks of the same character, which, though 
now isolated, were possibly in former times connected with the 
whole. This camp or town, taken together, is of much greater 
magnitude than any other in the vicinity, and with its triple 
line of defence, its outworks and covered approaches, was, 
there can be no doubt, a military camp of the first order ; 
but, although the gentleman to whom I have alluded has 
followed Polwhele in describing it as "retaining a noble 
impression of Boman castrametation," I am, for the reasons 
I have already mentioned, inclined to think it is more prob- 
ably an adaptation of an old British work to the require- 
ments of the Somans during their occupation of this district ; 
and I am confirmed in that opinion, as the true Boman 
camps are described by Polybius and other writers as in- 
variably quadrangular and uniform in their construction. 

At Hartland, westward of the Clovelly dichens, are vestiges 
of another, but much less important, entrenchment. And at 
a distance of five or six miles east, bearing south of Clovelly, 
in the parish of Buckland Brewer, there are two ancient 
fortifications on opposite hills, like some in the neighbourhood 
of Dartmoor; that towards the north in the midst of a wood, 
still surrounded by its aggeres and double fosse, is of con- 
siderable extent and tolerably perfect. Still more to the south, 
but in the same parish, stands one of the most distinct 
specimens we have of these aboriginal fastnesses, and what 
was, doubtless, a British fortification; for, with those last 
alluded to, they fulfil all the conditions of a British camp as 
described by Caesar in his Commentaries, and those other 
authors who wrote more fully after the Romans had become 
masters of the island. 



IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BIDEFORD. 103 

This fine remain I speak of, called Henbury Fort, is about 
seven miles from the town of Bideford. On the top of a hill, 




Honbiuy Fort. 

whose sides are precipitous and thickly wooded on the south 
and east, and whose foot on those, sides is watered by two 
small streams, is a small piece of table land, somewhat of 
oblong form, and about five acres in extent, which is now 
cultivated. Around this elevated plain an escarpment was 
made by digging, probably, some eight or ten feet perpen- 
dicularly, and throwing the earth outwards to a distance of 15 
or 18 feet, thus forming an agger or rampart on the outside of 
the ditch. 

There are also fainter remains of an inferior earthwork and 
ditch on the north-west, in the shape of a half-moon, forming 
a junction at each extremity with the main fastness, and 
thrown up probably as a protection on that its most assailable 
point. In the ditches have been found quantities of charred 
wood, and a few years since two cannon balls were dug out of 
the embankment, one weighing 5ilbs. and the other 7^1bs. 
There being a mound at the western end of the level piece of 
ground I have described as circumvallated by the escarpment, 
the owner, some 30 years ago, set a labourer to level and spread 
this mound; after digging some three feet deep, he all at once 
sank into a pit up to his armpits, and, on being extricated, a, 
quantity of skulls and human bones were found at the bottom 
of the pit. There can be little doubt that these were the 



104 ON THE REMAINS OP ANCIENT FOBTIFICATIONS. 

remains of those who fell in the skirmish during the hurried 
retreat of the RoyaKsts in the civil wars, after the sun-ender 
of Torrington, as tradition reports that on evacuating that 
town on the night of the 16th February, 1646, their first halt 
in their harassed march into Cornwall, which still held out 
against the Parliamentarians, was at this place; a supposition 
considerably strengthened by numbers of smaller shot having 
been at times found on the opposite hills, by which the enemy 
made their approach. 

Almost due south of Henbury Fort lies the parish of 
Shebbear, in which is found another of these ancient camps, 
stiU known as Durpley Castle. It is about ten miles from 

Bideford, and, like the 

others, situated on a hill, 

— in this instance nearly 

^MFM'j^^^^iJSFk^^^^kX^ conical in shape, and 

fi^^m^St^^^^^^^M w^ose apex is surrounded 

^m ^ffsE^^fa^^^itsn 8 a by an escarpment, with 

_^ 1| ditch and outer rampart, 

"W ^ H^^^^t^^Sc^Ji^^^SiKi^* formed probably in the 
'^ " same manner as that at 

Henbury Fort. The space 
enclosed does not much 
exceed an acre, but the 
Durpley caatie. escarpmcutis higher than 

that of the last-described encampment, and the ditch of con- 
sequence wider. The inner rampart is also protected on its 
western face by an outwork consisting of an outer bank and 
ditch forming an entrenchment in the shape of a half-moon, 
extending round for about half the circuit of the inner ditch, 
and joining or gunning into the latter at each extremity. The 
base of the hill is easily approachable on the west side, the 
ground up to it being nearly level, while on the other points 
it is almost inaccessible, from wood and the steepness and 
irregularity of the surface. Hence the apparent necessity for 
the additional defence I have just noticed. I may observe, that 
near the centre of the enclosed apex is a circular excavation 
of nearly thirty feet in diameter, and from fifteen to twenty 
in depth ; for what purpose made it is difficult to conjecture, 
fl'ough a suggestion may be offered that it was one of those 
subterranean receptacles in which, as some ancient authors 
relate, the Britons were accustomed to store up their com in 
the ear. 

Risdon, in his Survey, notices this place in the following 
words : — "At Durpley is a castle containing a small circuit 




ON THE RElfAIKS OF AKCIENT FORTIFICATIONS. 105 

of land within it, serving it should seem for some quartering 
place in the Danish deluge ;" but upon what authority it is 
difiBcult to conceiva Its character is precisely similar to the 
other ancient fortresses around, and from its circumscribed 
space it was probably constructed as much for observation 
as defence, the neighbourhood for some considerable distance 
being commanded by the eye, and the approach of an enemy 
discernible in time for preparation. 

Some eight or nine miles further to the east, and at about 
the same distance from Bideford as Durpley Castle, is another 
of these ancient remains. It lies in the parish of Boborough, 
and is called Ten Oaks. It is circular; in the midst of a 
wood; has its rampart and ditch, with agger outside very 
perfect ; 300 paces in circuit ; and likewise with an outwork 
embracing two-thirds of its extent on its north-west face 
(through which probably the main entrance originally ran) ; 
and it is so similar in character to the others already 
described, that it would be wasting time to say more in 
relation thereto. These hill fortresses are continued on at 
intervals from that last alluded to towards the south, till 
they reach Dartmoor, on which are found like remains ; and, 
as the (still living) author of a learned Soman history has 
observed, " the camps on the opposing mountains by Fingle 
Bridge, and the gorge of the Teign, mark the last conflicts 
between the Romans and the native Danmonii ;" and it was 
somewhere thereabouts that Titus saved the life of his father 
Vespasian, then Roman general in Britain, an incident which 
took place during the reign of Claudius, and which is related 
by Diodorus Siculus. As a proof of the obstinate resistance 
made by our Celtic ancestors to the occupation of their 
country, it may be remarked, on the authority of Suetonius, 
that Vespasian alone fought thirty battles with the Britons 
before he could reduce even part of the island to subjection. 

Though not strictly a portion of my subject, still, as I have 
made allusion to the capture of Torrington during the civil 
war, it may be interesting to know that the entrenchments 
thrown up by Lord Hopton for the defence of that town, at 
a distance of about two miles, near Stevenstone Park, are 
still plainly to be recognized ; and a little stretch of fancy 
alone is needed to picture the gallant cavaliers driven pell- 
mell, by Fairfax's victorious troops, across the intervening 
moor, into the ill-fated town ; but only to continue their 
flight, without delay, on the disastrous night before alluded 
to, till they reached, as already mentioned, the temporary 
shelter of " Henbury Fort" 



ON THE LONGITUDE OF PLACES, 

AND ON THE APPLICATION OP THE ELEOTRIO TELEGRAPH 
TO DETERMINE IT. 

BT JAMXa JBBWOOD, X.A., F.O.S., X.G.P.8., 
BttrritUfHtt'Law, and f'ic§'FrMidmt of ike Jhwm AMOcMUm. 



Ik answer to a circular from the Treasury, some time ago, 
respecting the Scale for the Ordnance Map, I remarked that, 
to a maritime coimtry like Great Britain, it is of high impor- 
tance that the longitude and latitude of places on the coouis 
should be accurately determined. One of the attendant 
advantages is, that when a ship begins its voyage from a 
port of which the latitude and longitude are accurately 
known, one end of the ship's course is a fixed point, and the 
beginning of its reckoning free from error — an object of no 
small consequence to the sailor. 

The latitude of a place can be easily determined by well 
known methods ; to find its longitude is a problem of some- 
what greater difficulty. There are several modes of solving 
it with much precision; still, the methods chiefly adopted 
depend on geodetic admeasurements, or on astronomical 
observations. In finding the longitude of a place by the 
geodetical method, it is assumed that the earth is an exact 
spheriod, the axes of which are known, and that the earth's 
figure is perfectly regular. The discrepancies which have 
been found in difiTerent meridian arcs prove that this latter 
assumption is not founded on fact, and that, therefore, it 
may be an element of error in the longitude of a place 
determined in that manner. 

In several of the astronomical methods, the figure of the 
earth does not enter into the process, and the difierence of 
longitude between two places is ascertained with equal exact- 
ness, whether that figure be regular or irregular. These 
methods depend principally on the difference of apparent 
time between the two places: a difference of four minutes 
in time gives one degree of longituda Hence, perhaps, one 



ON THE LONGITUDE OF PLACES* 107 

of the siinplest methods of solving this important problem 
is by chronometers, and that simplicity, it is thought, gains 
its maximum state when the electric telegraph is employed 
to convey the chronometric time from one meridian to another. 
It is supposed that a brief discussion on the practical appli- 
cation of the method may not be unprofitable or uninteresting, 
especially as it is not generally found in our elementary 
treatises on astronomy. The chronometric method, up to a 
recent period, was simply this: A chronometer, well regu- 
lated, was set to indicate the true time at a known meridian — 
for instance, Greenwich; then, if that chronometer be care^ 
fully carried to a different meridian, it will continue to show 
Greenwich time; and therefore, if the time at the latter 
meridian be accurately determined, the difiference between 
the time so ascertained, and that shown by the Greenwich 
chronometer, will indicate the difference of longitude of the 
place of observation from that of Greenwich in time, which, 
converted into degrees at the rate of IS"* to an hour, will 
show the longitude from Greenwich. If the time at the 
place of observation is before that at Greenwich, its longitude 
is east of Greenwich; if the time be later than that at Green- 
wich, the longitude is west of Greenwich. (See Vine^s 
Astronomy, vol. i., chap, xxviii) There are many advantages 
attending the employment of several chronometers in this 
method; they are clearly pointed out in Woodhotis£s As- 
tronemy. 

Chronometers have been employed in two noted cases in 
England. First. Dr. Tiark's was engaged by the Board of 
Longitude to determine the difference of longitude between 
the island of Madeira and Falmouth, and also the differences 
between Falmouth and Portsmouth, and Falmouth and Dover. 
The Doctor published an account of the proceedings in these 
cases in the Philosophical Transactions. He has also pub- 
lished a report of his chronometrical observations, which 
may be had at Mr. Murray's. 

Secondly. The longitude of the Cambridge Observatory 
was determined by chronometrical observations by the present 
Astronomer Eoyal, who was then the Plumian p]X)fessor of 
astronomy at Cambridge. He published an account of the 
process in the Cawhridge Philo8ophi4xU Transactions, voL iii. 
The longitude of the Cambridge Observatory was found to 
be 23"'54 east of Greenwich. The longitude of the Obser- 
vatory, deduced geodetically, was 24'''6 east, differing by V-OH 
or 16" in space from that determined by the chronometer, 
which would imply an error of 300 yards. 



108 ON THE LONGrrUDE OF PLACES. 

The above cases, as before remarked, are, it is believed, 
the only ones in which chronometers have been applied to 
determine the longitude of places in England. It appears, 
however, from the TraiU Elementaire cTAstronomiqiu Phy- 
sique, par Biot, tome iiL, p. 375, that the method has been 
employed in Bussia as far baek as 1843, under the direction 
of the celebrated astronomer F. 6. W. Struve, and directly 
under the imperial patronage of the Czar himself. The Czar s 
royal patronage of this and other scientific matters makes large 
amends for his alleged short-coming in other subjects. It is 
a glorious example, which other sovereigns, who would fain 
be considered less tyrannical and more refined, might follow 
with great advantage to their country. At all events, the 
munificent encourager of science can hardly be, at the same 
time, a deadly foe to rational liberty and genuine civilization. 

In the two cases which have been discussed above, it must 
be obvious that the labour of ascertaining the time at each 
place of observation, and the journey to and from, must have 
made the operation in a high degree toilsome. Dr. Tiark's 
chronometers were transported from the one place to the 
other by ship, a mode of conveyance which, at first sight, one 
might siq>pose would be likely to afiect the accuracy of the 
result. In the other case, the chronometers were sent from 
Greenwich to Cambridge on a coach. It speaks highly for 
the caution and practical foresight of all the parties con- 
cerned, when sueh accurate and reliable determinations were 
made under such casualties and difiBculties, wliich, we think, 
will be more apparent by-and-by, when we have shown a 
method by which the same objects may be obtained without 
any risk or much trouble. 

Dr. Tiarks, having satisfied himself that there are errors 
in the longitudes of places as determined by the Trigono- 
metrical Survey, next enters into an investigation of the 
cause of the mistake, and he arrives at the conclusion, that 
the longitudes laid down in the survey will deviate from the 
truth in the same proportion in which the parallel of lati- 
tude of a spheroid, having the degree of the meridian in 
latitude 51"* 41', diflfers from those of the terrestrial spheriod, 
the compression of which is nearly y|^. 

On the other hand, the Astronomer Boyal, in the Cambridge 
case, ascribes the difference to some peculiarity in the earth's 
figure; but it should be remarked, that Dr. Tiarks concludes 
that the longitudes in the trigonometrical survey are less than 
those found by chronometrical observations; whereas the 
Astronomer Boyal has made the difference the other way. 



ON THE LONGITUDE OF PLACES. 109 

that is, the longitude of the Cambridge Observatory by the 
survey is greater than that which he obtained by chrono- 
metrical observations. The Professor gives an opinion with 
regard to the discrepance between, his result and that of the 
survey; but he makes no remark on the difference of another 
kind which Dr. Tiarks had found and commented upon. I 
only name the fact, that those two celebrated and experienced 
authors disagree in their results; the one making tiie differ- 
ence between the longitudes on the survey and those ascer- 
tained by chronometers less, the other greater, there is an 
obvious error somewhere; whether it may be found to exist 
in the employment of different fractional values of the com- 
pression, or to the error discussed by Captain Eater, in the 
Philosophical Transactions sometime ago, is a matter for com- 
petent persons to determine. All that I now say is, that the 
Cambridge case appears to disprove the law enunciated by 
Dr. Tiarks. 

I have discussed this point at such length, because it is 
generally considered that the longitude of nearly all the 
places in England, as given in most recent treatises, are taken 
from the trigonometrical survey; and consequently, whether 
Dr. Tiarks or the Astronomer Eoyal be correct, they require 
to be recalculated, and their fundamental errors eliminated; 
for it would appear that the error pervades the system, and 
therefore the whole should be revised. The most feasible 
method of affecting this public desideratum is unquestionably 
by ascertaining the time at a known meridian ; for instance, 
Greenwich, and also the time at the same moment at any 
other meridian, by telegraphic signal; this would at once, as 
we have already shown, indicate the difference of longitude 
in time. 

All the principal towns in England are now connected 
with London or Greenwich by electric telegraphs, and for 
scientific purposes they are all under the able superintendence 
of the Astronomer Royal. "Whenever," says Sir John 
Herschel, (Astronomy, p. 172,) "an unbroken line of electric 
telegraph connection has been established, tfie means exist of 
making as complete a comparison of clocks or watches as if they 
stood side hy side, so that no method more complete for the 
determination of the difference of longitude can be desired." 
The difference of longitude between the Observatories of 
Greenwich and Paris was ascertained by this method some- 
time ago; the greatest possible error did not amount to a 
quarter of a second. Perhaps the first attempt to determine 
the difference of longitude by this method was made by 



110 OK THE LOKGITUDE OF PLACES. 

Captain Wilkes, in 1844, between Washington and Baltimore, 
in the United States of America. An interesting account of 
the process adopted and followed is given in Professor 
Lomis's instructive volume, entitled The Beeent Progress 
of Astronomy, The chapter on electric telegraphs is espe- 
(nally deserving any one's attention, who takes an interest in 
the subject of this paper. 

From these remarks I think it will appear that» although 
our tables of longitude are not strictly to be relied upon, we 
have ready at our hands the best means of rendering them 
accurate. I have ventured briefly, and I feel inadequately, to 
call your notice to the subject^ in the hope that some of the 
members of this Association, especially our talented and 
accomplished President^ who have the requisite influence^ and 
the necessary esteem for the scientific credit of their country, 
will call the attention of the Astronomer Boyal to the subject 
Such a truly national undertakiug falls entirely and most 
appropriately within his official duties ; and there is no man 
in existence better qualified to devise such a scheme, and to 
superintend its working, so that it may completely accomplish 
the object aimed at, than he is. Under the Astronomer Boyal's 
official superintendence, it may be hoped that England will 
hereafter make up for its lost and neglected ground in this 
unique application of the electric fluid; and that it will also, 
to some extent, make amends for the outrage which sometime 
ago it permitted King Hudson to perpetrate on English 
science, by enforcing his royal order that the same time 
should be kept at all places; that philosophical monarch 
practically annihilated th^ difference of longitude between all 
places, and made every clock east or west of Greenwich tell 
a lie every time it strikes. This may be termed the Hudsoniau 
l^slation on English science; it has a depressir^g operation 
in discussing the difference of longitudes of places, and may, 
perhaps, account for the many defects of this article. 

It may prevent erroneous inferences, if, in conclusion, I 
remark, that I have, more than once, made attempts to ciEtU 
attention to the subject of this article; one of these is 
mentioned above, which alludes to others. I believe, how- 
ever, that the preceding aigument is my own. When, there- 
,^ lore, the national importance of the matter is considered, I 
trust I shall be foigiven for again bringing it before the 
public, and that seeming iteration will be treated indulgently. 



ON ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, TOEQUAY, STRUCK BY 
LIGHTNING. 



BT S. YIYIAN, F.X.8. 



On Tuesday, the 16th instant, the Church of St. John's, 
Torquay, was struck by lightning. The day had been fine, 
with heavy showers, and light wind from the south-west 
Distant thunder had been heard several times, from isolated 
clouds at a low altitude, for several hours previously. 

Between three and four o'clock, a small dark cloud, which 
had given not more than two or three discharges as it rose 
from the opposite side of the bay, passed over the town. A 
tremendous explosion, terminating in a peal of thunder, and 
immediately accompanied by a vivid flash, was heard over 
St John's Church. This was followed by a shower of stones, 
many of which were hurled to a distance of from 200 to 
800 yards. The roof of Lawrence Place, on the Strand, 
where I was at the time, was broken through, and several 
heavy fragments struck the fronts of the houses. At first, 
it seemed as if an aerolite had burst; but, on picking up a 
portion of the stone, several pounds in weight, I found that 
it was evidently Ham Hill oolite — not very likely to have 
come from the moon, or the meteor belt It was then 
observed that St John's Church had been struck, the dressings 
of the handsome new chancel of which consisted of this 
stona 

On carefrQly examining the building, I found that the 
cross, weighing 2^ cwt., on the summit of the chancel arch, 
the highest point of the fabric, had been first struck. The 
lightning appeared to have entered at the summit, where 
several sxnsJl holes had been fused, and the fractures were 
marked with a dark ochreous stain. Portions of the cross were 
picked up on each side of the Church. The current then 
divided, passing down the copings of the gable, massive 
fragments of which were dispersed in every directioa On the 
north, it passed away into the a4Joining cliff; on the south, 
it leaped across to the flying buttress, whence it must have 



112 ON ST. JOHN'S CHUBCH, TORQUAY, 

diffused itself over the roofs of the houses below, the deluge 
of rain causing their wet surfaces to act as a conductor. 
Some have supposed that it passed down by an iron shute 
into the ground. This could not» I think, have been the 
case, as the pipe does not reach to the ground, and there was 
no disturbance of the surface, or any marks upon the wall. 
The upper end of the shute reaches within a few feet of the 
coping, proving, as Mr. Hoarder remarked in a paper pub- 
lished in our Transactions, that even a lightning-rod is not 
an attractor at any considerable distance, but simply a con- 
ductor, and should therefore extend to every elevated point. 

The entire building must have been violently shaken, as 
plaster was dislodged from the chancel wall, and strewn 
around the communion tabla Two of the handsome marble 
pillars on either side are slightly injured, although the light- 
ning did not enter the Church, as is clearly shown by the gas 
pipes not being fused, or the metallic ornaments discoloured. 
Had the copings and roof not been wet, the electricity would, 
doubtless, have fissured the waUs, and caused much greater 
damage. The principal injury is now the destruction of the 
cross and copings, a dangerous shake to the gable separating 
the two faces of the wall, and the fractures in the roof from 
falling stones. 

Evidence more or less reliable seems to show that the 
electric current in a concentrated form was felt at points 
many hundred yards distant from the Church, where the 
main stroke felL In the shipwrights* yard near Beacon Hill, 
three men, who were sheltering under a shed immediately 
adjoining, affirm that a mass of limestone lying on the beach 
was struck, and fragments thrown across the yard. I have 
examined the spot, and heard their statement, but have much 
doubt as to the inferences. The fracture of the rock appears to 
have been caused by mechanical blows from above; and the 
fragments said to have been thrown across the yard were not 
seen, but only heard, to fall. As Beacon Terrace intervenes 
between this spot and the Church, it seems impossible that 
the current should have passed over it without striking the 
elevated points. It might have been a back-stroke passing 
upwards from the earth ; upon this point I am very desirous 
of having the opinion of electricians. At the residence of 
Sir Thomas Symonds, on the hill above the Church, a chimney 
top was struck off, and picture-frames blackened in the 
drawing-room. A ball of fire is reported to have fallen, or 
possibly risen, in Geoige Street; and a numbing shock of 
electricity was felt for some distance in every direction. 



STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. 113 

The phenomena of thunderstorms are so extremely varied, 
that I might extend this paper to any length by a comparison 
which, if carefully pursued, might throw much light upon 
the trae action of electricity on the grand scale of nature. 
I will only briefly advert to two of strongly contrasted 
characters. From the summit of Lustleigh Gleve, on a calm 
•August day, I saw a heavy bank of cloud rising over Exeter. 
On the opposite horizon, a small detached cloud was moving 
from the south-west. As it passed with increasing speed 
over Hounds Tor, it fired a single shot, as if finding its range 
before coming into action. The two clouds met immediately 
over our heads, and, as their edges approached, a fringe dart^ 
forward, and a brilliant sheet of flame illumined the whole 
space between them. In a moment a shower of soft hail 
fell around us, followed by rain. The lightning, which was, 
doubtless, in the opposite conditions of electricity, merely 
passed from cloud to cloud without striking the earth, and 
equilibrium was restored; for no further dischai^ges occurred 
after the clouds collapsed and moved slowly across the moor. 
I observed the same phenomena during a clear night from 
Box Hill, in Surrey, when the effects were most brilliant, 
several small clouds being successively in collision and 
collapsing. At Axminster a heavy mass of cloud rose over 
the sea with almost continuous discharges of sheet lightning. 
As it approached, I observed that long serpentine flashes were 
passing through the body of the cloud in all directions with- 
out any reaching the ground. Two heavy strata must have 
been firing into each other; but it is inexplicable why they 
did not sooner collapse. The storm passed away to the 
north-east without any cessation in the discharges. The hail 
which fell along its course was as large as pigeons' eggs. 
Great injury was done to crops and glass ; and a countryman, 
who described what seemed to be at least a fall of aerolites, 
took us to a hollow lane, where he had been sheltering under 
the bank, and we found it was a herd of cattle which had 
leaped over him ! 

The exemption of Torquay from thunderstorms or hail, 
ordinarily, is very remarkable. During more than 30 years, 
in wh^ph I have recorded meteorologicS observations, I have 
never known a plane of glass broken, or heard thunder follow 
a flash within less than five seconds; so that, probably, light- 
ning had never before fallen in the parish. The course of 
storms is from the high land of Cornwall over Dartmoor; or 
from the Start Point across to Beer Head. The prevalence 
of rainfall follows the same lines of attraction. 

VOL. II, I 



ST. ANNE'S CHAPEL-THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, 

BARNSTAPLE. 

BT CHAJELLE8 JOHKSTOK, M.S.C.S. 



A VERY ancient looking Chapel, now used as a Grammar 
School, in the churchyard of Barnstaple Old Church, is 
described in Oliver's Manasticon Uxonienais as being dedicated 
to St. Anne, and built over the chamel house of the parish 
cemetery. Beference is also made to the antiquary Leland's 
account, which states that one Holman, a former vicar, was 
its founder; but, as Dr. Oliver remarks, "this admits of 
doubt; for Mr. John Holman did not become vicar until 
December, 1461, and died a few months after, whilst there 
was certainly a chapel of St. Anne here in 1444 ; for Bishop 
Lacy in that year granted an indulgence of forty days to all 
sincere penitents who would contribute towards its main- 
tenance." This meagre information is all that can be obtained 
upon the subject in Barnstaple, and carries us to a time the 
architectural evidences of which, in some parts of the build- 
ing, point no further back than to the beginning or middle of 
the 15th century, coincidental certainly, so far, with the 
period of its foundation as described by Leland, and not 
conflicting with the earlier proclamation of Bishop Lacy. 
When we come, however, to examine the structure as a whole, 
a very great difference is immediately detected, not only in 
the material employed and the workmanship displayed, but 
also in the design and style of what may be described as joi 
earlier edifice, for whatever purpose raLsed, and additions 
which have evidently been made to adapt it to a new and 
special object, as the chapel in modern times known to have 
been dedicated to St Anne. This admission, as regards 
the latter, concludes, therefore, that part of the question 
historically, and leaves to be chiefly considered in this paper 
the age and designation of the first building, and which 1 have 
good reason to believe is the original chapel of St. Sabinus, 
mentioned in the charter of Joel the founder of the Priory of 
St. Mary Magdalene, to which it was given with the church 
of St. Peter, Barnstaple, with all dues and offerings, in part 
support of the new community. I have been fortunate in 



THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BARNSTAPLE. 115 

obtaining from oar talented borough Surveyor, and his son 
Mr. John Grould, the loan of a plan of the chapel made some 
years ago, and in which the older is distinguished from the 
later parts by being shaded. A reference to this will materially 
assist in forming an opinion upon the subject, and for which 
purpose it will lie upon the table of the Lecture-room of the 
Institution during the meeting of the Association. The 
original building is quadrangular in form, measuring forty-four 
feet in length, by twenty-three feet in width, and which, I 
may observe in passing, is singularly correspondent with the 
size of several small early churches in Ireland; such, for 
instance, as that of St. Mochua, near Dublin, the erection of 
which (see Petrie's Round Taivers of Ireland, page 397,) is 
ascribed to St Patrick himself The walls are 2^ feet thick, 
and rise to a present height of twenty feet to the wall plate, 
although appearances indicate that the last three feet are a 
more modem addition, to suit altered ciixjumstances and 
requirements. The height of the vertex of the roof from the 
floor in Mr. Gould's plan is 35 feet, though there is reason to 
suppose the true level should be that of the natural surface 
of the ground, before any burials in or around had taken place, 
which would add at least one foot more to the height. The 
entrance was in the west wall, by a doorway three feet wide, 
with a plane moulding at the external angles, where the walls 
are champered ofif on each side for about six inches, and lined 
in the most primitive manner by light slabs of freestone, 
inserted for the purpose. Six narrow apertures, tliree in each 
wall, north and south, splayed internally from 1^ foot outside 
to 8 feet within, admitted light into the interior of the chapeL 
The material which enters into the construction of the 
building is such as might be obtained from any road-side 
quarry at the present day, and the masonary is of the rudest 
and coarsest kind. The stones are of all sizes and shapes, 
laid out without any regard to regular courses, in what is 
graphically described as sprawled rubble masonry. On the 
west gable, at present, a small open belfry of brick still, perhaps, 
preserves the form of that usual appendage to cliapels of the 
character and age to which I refer the one under consideration; 
and to illustrate which I have also placed upon the table a 
reduced copy of a mural painting, found on the wall of the 
nave of Cowsmouth Church, Cheshire, which reproduces in a 
most interesting manner every prominent circumstance — the 
chapel, the anchor or recluse, with a lanthom, and the guide 
— historically connected with the origin and name of Barum, 
as a fire-bear or public light, so placed as to assist travellers 

I 2 



116 ST. anne's chapel — 

and pilgrims in crossing the river Taw in a dangerous but 
most convenient place, on what has always been a much used 
thoroughfare, the great road between CornwaU and the north 
of England. 

Having thus briefly reviewed the chief features of the 
original chapel, I shall now direct attention to those alterations 
which have been made to adapt it to more modem purposes. 
In the first place, it will be seen by reference to Mr. Grould's 
plan, that a quadrangular tower, 12 feet by 9 feet, has been 
added on to the west end of the south wall In this the 
masonry, in unequal but regular stony courses, makes a 
striking contrast with the older work, and considerable dif- 
ference is also to be observed in the mortars used in the two 
constructions. The tower, which is not more than 30 feet 
high, is divided into three stories, the second one of which 
serves and evidently was intended to be the entrance hall or 
vestibule to a large room extending the whole length of the 
building, and the floor of which is of wood resting upon 
tran verse joists from side to side; all supported on an immense 
central beam, to receive the ends of which, two large holes 
were made in the east and west walls. From a stone arched 
doorway, on the western face of this entrance story, a sweep 
of ten steps, in a considerable curve, leads to the ordinary 
pathway through the churchyard. The apartment beneath 
must be very low and contracted, and could only have been 
used as a store or tool -house, whilst that under the roof, 
with two imposing windows, especially the one on the south 
front, may have been a cell or dormitory for an oflBciating 
priest, or a room for his vestments and books. Upon exami- 
nation it will be found that there is no regular bonding of the 
masonry of this tower with the earlier work, and the elabo- 
rately grotesque giirgoiles placed at the angles evidently prove 
the great care that was taken to prevent the admission of 
moisture at the junction of the two. It is also worthy of note 
that the grey sandstone which enters into the structure of the 
tower, differs very considerably from the soft red sandstone 
of the two windows in the east and south walls yet to be 
described, as also from the dark coloured gritty siliceous 
stones used in the original building. To what cause this may 
be due it is impossible now to say, but the inconsistency to be 
observed in Leland's reference to Vicar Holman, as the 
foimder of the chapel in Barnstaple churchyard, and the prior 
claims, at all events, of the devotees appealed to for assistance 
towards the maintenance of St. Anne's chapel, in Bishop 
Lacy*8 brief, point, I think, to two different periods of altera- 



THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BARNSTAPLfi. 117 

tions, and veiy probably, as Dr. Oliver supposes, Vicar Holman 
was a munificent contributor, and subsequently added, at his 
own expense, the certainly elegant tower to some previous 
work of restoration. It remains to direct attention to the 
two inserted windows before alluded to. Both are well shown 
and their details brought out on an enlarged scale in Mr. 
Grould's plan, and, in his opinion, belong to a type very 
prevalent in the Gothic architecture of the 14th century, to 
which accordingly he is inclined to refer them. The one in the 
east wall is twelve feet in height by six wide, and consists of 
three lights with a remarkable plane circular one within the 
arch. The one in the south wall, three feet by seven feet, is 
olf two lights, and possesses the same circular head light as the 
former, presenting together a consistency of efifect which 
unites the two as belonging to the same design. Both betray 
strong proofs of insertion at a late period, not only in the 
evident dislocation of disturbed masonry, but also in the 
marked whiteness of the lime employed in the alterations. 

If, from these specimens of very considerable artistic sldll, 
the curious observer turns to contrast them with the humbler 
character and poor style of the original windows, now almost 
buried in the accumulation of mould due to the interments 
of centimes, he will feel astonished at the lapse of time 
indicated by the difiference existing between them ; that is, 
supposing he does not fall into the very possible error of 
believing that the latter were never intended for any other 
purpose than to admit light into a designed crypt or cellar 
below the more imposing structure abova Should this be 
the case, and which, indeed, I believe has been the chief 
cause of this most interesting monimient of the first intro- 
duction of Christianity into this part of Britain not having 
attracted that attention its importance deserves, I recommend 
an early perusal of Petrie's learned work upon The Rotmd 
Towers of Ireland, where (especially at page 180, and further 
on at page 396,) will be found wood illustrations and plans of 
several very ancient chapels, which present exactly the same 
external features and internal details of measurement as the 
chapel in Bcumstaple churchyard, when divested of its evi- 
dently later additions, and the window insertions of compara- 
tively modem times. It is necessary, indeed, that 1 institute 
the comparison to some extent m3rself, to show that this old 
chapel is none other than that of St. Sabinus, mentioned in 
the charter of Joel to the priory of St. Mary Magdalene, and 
alluded to also, though not named, in the charter of confir- 
mation given on the same occasion by William the Conqueror. 



118 ST. ANNE'S CHAPEL — 

I wish, however, in the first place (as I believe it to be the 
work of an Iiish recluse,) to make a few general remarks to 
point out how, in the building we are considering, principles 
of construction which, according to Petrie, particularly in- 
fluenced the early missionaries of our religion in Ireland, 
appear also to have operated in the same way in this 
neighbourhood, and in connection with the same ends. It 
will, no doubt, have been observed that over the rude lintels 
of one stone, slightly excavated to form a kihd of head to the 
old narrow windows, is placed a row of thin stones, placed on 
end in a curved line, for the purpose of receiving the pressure 
of the weight above. Now this, of course, indicates a 
practical knowledge of the principles of the arch, and implies 
considerable architectural skill; whilst, at the very same time, 
in every other part of the work, appearances would say that 
the builders held in no estimation the excellent contrivances 
for the comfort of the body, and the elevation of the mind, 
which are found in the art and ornament of masonry. Some 
have gone so far as even to say these early Christian chapels 
were intended to be typical of the austerity of living and 
mien imposed by the new faith. Petrie observes that it is 
very questionable whether the unadorned simplicity, and 
contracted dimensions, of the earliest churches in Ireland 
were due entirely to the poverty or ignorance of their founders ; 
and goes on to say, "That they have little to interest the 
mind or attract regard as works of art, would be childish to 
deny; yet in their symmetrical simplicity, their dimly lighted 
nave entered by its central west doorway, there is an 
expression of fitness to their purpose, too often wanted in 

modem temples of the highest pretensions. In short, 

these ancient fanes are just such humble unadorned structures 
as we might have expected them to have been ; but even if 
they were found to exhibit less of that expression of congruity 
and fitness, and more of that humbleness so characteristic of 
a religion not made for the rich, but for the poor and lowly, 
that mind is but little to be envied which could look with 
apathy on the remains so venerable for their antiquity, and so 
interesting as being raised in honour of the Creator in the 
simplest, if not the purest, ages of Christianity. Poor their 
founders unquestionably were, but that poverty appears to 
have been voluntary as became men walking in the footsteps 
of the Eedeemer, and who obtained their simple food by the 
labour of their hands; but that they were ignorant of the arts, 
or insensible to their influence, could scarcely have been 
possible in men, very many of whom — Eomans, Gauls, and 



THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BARNSTAPLE. 119 

Britons — we know were educated where those arts, though 
they had become debased, were still cultivated. Many of the 
ecclesiastics, in fact, obtained celebrity as artificers, and 
makers of the sacred implements necessary for the church, 
and as illuminators of books, and there is still remaining the 
most indisputable evidence of their skill in these arts in 
ancient croziers, bells, shrines, and in MSS., not inferior in 
splendour to any extent in Europe. It is by no means im- 
probable that the severe simplicity as well as the uniformity 
of plan and size which usually characterizes our early 
churches, .was less the result of the poverty or ignorance 
of their founders than of choice originating in the austere 
spirit of ftieir faith, or a veneration for some model given to 
them by their first teachers ; for that the earliest Christian 
churches on the Continent before the time of Constantino 
were like these, small and unadorned, there is no reason to 
doubt, and the oldest churches in Greece are exactly similar 
to these described in Ireland." (Petrie, pp. 188 and 159.) 

The chief significancy of these observations in reference 
to the history of the chapel we are now considering, is the 
argument contained of the tenacity with which the Chris- 
tians of the first British church adhered to the established 
rule in constructing their sacred buildings. Petrie quotes 
from a MS. life of St. Patrick a statement that in the plan 
and measurement of the ancient quadrangular church of 
Downpatrick, of the prescribed length of sixty feet, he was 
guided by an angel ; and further adds, that the cathedral and 
abbey churches of Ireland before the 12th century never 
exceeded that length. Now it is a curious fact (and this 
remarkable instance of conformity to an apparently rigid 
conventional standard is also derived from Petrie) that the 
first Christian church erected in Britain, and which was 
traditionally ascribed to the apostolic age, namely, Glastonbury 
church, said t.o have been built by Joseph of Arimathea, was 
exactly of the same size and form generally adopted in Ireland 
aft^r its conversion to Christianity, namely, 60 feet in length 
and 27 in breadth. So far I have felt it necessary to quote 
from an authority which I am sure will command the respect 
of this meeting, to introduce my own views as regards the 
original dedication and builders of the old chapel in the 
churchyard, now ascribed to St Anne, but which I am of 
opinion ought to be referred back to a much earlier age, and 
is, in fact, the original chapel of St. Sabinus, of the time of 
the Conqueror. I have been strongly confirmed in this by a 
subsequent happy discovery of the real individual whose 



120 ST. annb's chapel — 

memory was honoured in the dedication, and who hitherto 
has been presumed to be, on the strength of the name alone, 
one of three Italian bishops in the calendar of the Boman 
saiilts, who appear to have been martyred and canonized 
between the 4th and 5th centuries; but what connection, 
historical or legendary, existed between either of these and 
this distant loodity in Britain does not appear. In fact, no 
satisfaction upon this point can be obtained, if the search for 
knowledge be restricted to the orthodox roll of saints; but it 
is very different when we come to examine the records of the 
early British, or, rather Irish, church, and compare names, 
places, and circumstances in a remote antiquity jivith the 
eloquent remains we ai'e privileged to inspect to-day, and 
several local appellations around, which have preserved in a 
traditional nomenclature a memory of the first circumstances 
that led to the establishment of a religious community and 
chapel here ; the little seed that in the town of Barnstaple 
has developed into a goodly tree. The beautiful seal of 
Pilton Priory is a record of an interesting historical fact that 
Atl^elstan, the grand-son of Alfred the Great, and educated in 
his court, was a considerable benefactor, if not properly to be 
considered the first Christian founder of what had very 
probably been previously a Druidical monastic institution, 
or of whatever native religion was intended by that nama 
From recorded history we further learn that this king made a 
complete tour of his western provinces of Devon and Corn- 
wall, including even a visit to the then remote island of Scilly. 
He was accustomed during this journey, under circumstances 
of exposure, to vow lands to certain tutelary saints, and 
several religious houses in the two counties owe their origin 
to his pious liberality. According to a return made in the 
17th year of the reign of Edward III. to a writ of inquisition 
issued by the king's chancellor, it was by a charter of Athel- 
stan, of famous memory, the buigesses of Barnstaple claimed 
certain privileges withheld from them; and at the present 
day writers on the Constitution of England rely upon the 
results of the enquiry then made for the interesting fact of 
a representative instituion of the Commons having formed, 
at that early period, part of the general government of the 
country. But previously to this there is no reason to doubt 
that there was in this locality a resident community known 
to the surrounding country as Barr, the firebear, or Barum in 
old monkish Latin; and the significance of this word as 
indicating a signal light, together with the situation, conveys 
to us positive knowledge that some public provision was here 



THE GRAACMAB SCHOOL, BARNSTAPLE. 121 

made to guide travellers, by means of a beacon, across the 
liver at low water during the night. It is also well known 
that, at a period when an austere acetism was considered the 
most convincing proof of sincere devotion, many religious 
enthusiasts devoted themselves to a truly enlightened prac- 
tical humanity, by stationing themselves in exposed situations 
where local knowledge and prepared appliances enabled them 
to be of daily service in aiding their fellow-mortals, who 
otherwise but for their assistance might fall and perish on 
their way. Such are the objects and the frequent duties of the 
monks of St. Bernard at the present day, who in a dangerous 
pass across the Alps provide shelter, refreshments, and guides 
to those compelled to traverse that inclement region during 
winter. On the other side of our river, just beyond Anchor 
wood (another most significant designation), is a farm caUed 
Hele, of which there is abundant evidence, if I had only time 
to enter upon the subject, to show that in the earliest ages of 
British history a counterpart of the hospital of St. Bernard 
here existed, and was intended for very similar purposes. As 
I have just remarked, the significant word anchor suggests 
immediately the particular agents who employed themselves 
in works of benevolence, especially connected in this situation 
with the guidance of travellers across the river. Anchor, 
originally signifying a recluse, alluded more to the danger- 
ously exposed situation, selected as the field of the labours of 
the devotee, than to the total withdrawing of all conmiunion 
with his fellow-mortals which characterized the anchorite or 
hermit of later days. Boads through forests and across 
lonely moors were the localities, of course, where useful bene- 
volence could best be exercised, and would be most needed, 
and devotion to a life in such situations reqtdred for its salt, 
that opportunities of doing good to others should be con- 
stantly occurring. On this side of the river, it would appear, 
the convenience of a light was maintained by the same 
agency, and the name of the narrow street leading from an 
old inn in Green-lane, still called the Bear, to the churchyard 
across the present market-place, preserves in the name of 
Anchor-lane, a memory of the original occupiers of the spot, 
and of the particular duties imposed upon them. 

To contract this paper, however, within prescribed limits, 
I must proceed at once to my identification of the St Sabinus, 
conmiemorated in the name of this chapel, with a certain 
anchorite, as he is described in The Annals of Ulster, an 
old Irish chronicle, named Suibine, and whose death is 
recorded in the year 891 ; and be it also observed, whom 



122 ST. anne's chapel — 

Florence of Worcester, in his chronicle of corresponding date, 
calls "the most skilful of all the Scots," A representation 
of his inscribed tombstone, on which will be found his name 
and a most elaborately-carved cross, is represented at page 
323, Petrie's Bound Towers of Ireland, where also in the 
text the important fact is recorded that he was one of 
three Irishmen who visited Alfred the Great The remark- 
able coincidence of finding an anchorite of the name of 
Suibine, the Latin form of which would be Sabinus, asso- 
ciated with the court of Alfred, where Athelstan, who incor- 
porated Barnstaple, was brought up and educated, immediately 
led me to infer a more probable dedication of the old chapel 
in our churchyard to an active Christian teacher, who must, 
at all events, have been in this neighbourhood on his journey 
from Ireland to the West Saxons, than with any Continental 
bishop who had no historical connection with the place, 
either spiritual or otherwise ; in fact, nothing but the simi- 
larity of name and the fact of canonization, to afford colour- 
able reason to the supposition that thus assigned the honour 
to the Italian St Sabinus. In looking for further evidence 
upon this point, I was greatly struck with the picture of 
devotion and courage displayed in such enterprises as Suibine 
engaged in, by a few lines in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 
which, imder the date of his death, also describes the con- 
temporaneous arrival of three fellow-labourers of this early 
missionary. It is as follows : — " And three Scots came to 
King Alfred in a boat, without any oars, from Ireland, 
whence they had stolen away, because they desired for the 
love of God to be in a state of pilgrimage, they recked not 
where. The boat in which they came was made of two hides 
and a half, and 'they took with them provisions for seven 
days, and then about the seventh day they came on shore in 
Cornwall, and soon after went to King Alfred." And of such 
a nature, an idea of which I think will be readily conveyed 
by this quaint recital, there can be little doubt was the 
motive which induced Suibine to seek here a field of mis- 
sionary labour. There is also every reason to suppose that 
at this time the lingering interests of a superstition, rapidly 
dying out, but tolerated for its convenience in this situation, 
still held possession of a monopoly in the pecuniaay advan- 
tages of a long established ford over the river at Pottington ; 
to conduct towards which a raised causeway in the direction 
of Pilton still exists. Suibine may have been moved by 
compassion at witnessing the disregard to pauper claims for 
assistance at the wealthy institution long established at 



THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BARNSTAPLE. 123 

Longstone, and, perhaps, found a congenial habitat, where he 
could correct the evil, and acquire an influence among the 
natives, in the low scrubby coppice that then covered a spur 
of high land projecting into the river, and which at high tide 
was extensively surrounded by water, so as to look like a 
little peninsula cut off from the rest of the world. Here, 
accordingly, he seems to have established, with the aid of 
some disciples, a convenient porterage over the river; to 
assist in which, as I have before mentioned, a beacon light, 
Barum was erected ; the saint perhaps comforted and encour- 
aged by the apt similarity of name, purpose, and type it 
exhibited to the Barea of the Apostles, where the light was 
first shewn to the Grentiles. This view of the chapel, being 
dedicated to a friend and counsellor of Alfred the Great, is 
also strongly supported by the patronage subsequently 
accorded to the growing Christian community by his grand- 
son Athelstan. Besides, circumstances in the general history 
of the country were fast combining to forward, as with a 
Divine blessing, the material interests and prospects of the 
rising town of Barnstaple. The silting up of the river 
constantly going on, in the course of time, had materially 
afifected the capabilities of the town of Bishop's Tawton as 
the port of the district; whilst the increased size of the 
war-galleys, which the wise and energetic policy of Alfred 
had constructed, to check the piratical invasions of the 
Northmen, and which was, in fact, the beginning, in a 
national sense, of the British fleet, required greater facilities 
for docking and provision for defence, than could be obtained 
higher up the river than the site of Barnstaple. Here, there- 
fore, were found all the circumstances favourable to success- 
ful naval engineering in those early days, and its capabilities 
would no doubt be brought prominently before the notice of 
King Athelstan, during his visits to this part of his dominions, 
and led ultimately to the incorporation of Barnstaple as a 
royal borough. In this manner 1 have sought to recover an 
ancient and honoured memory, from an obscurity that had 
completely hidden the history of the founder of Barum, and 
given the honour to an entire stranger to the place. At the 
same time the age and original character of an interesting 
memorial of the past, closely connected with the first intro- 
duction of Christianity into this neighbourhood, have, I trust, 
been sufficiently established, if not by any argument I may 
have used, yet still by the demonstrative remains that speak 
for themselves, and claim, I think, a no less antiquity than 
that to which, in these few remarks, I have accordingly 
referred them. 



NOTES ON THE CARBONIFEROUS BEDS ADJOININO THE 
NORTHERN EDGE OF THE GRANITE OF DARTMOOR. 

BY O. WABEOra OBICBBOD, M.A.y 7.0.8. 



The granite district, known in general terms as Dartmoor, is 
bordered on the southerly part, from near Walliford down on 
the east, to the south of the Tavy river at Cock's Tor, on the 
west by the Devonian rocks ; the remaining part adjoins the 
Carboniferous. The beds that form the carboniferous strata 
vary in character, from a friable slate to a compact cherfy 
rock. No coal or culm has, I believe, been found in the dis-, 
trict to which these observations are confined ; and the only 
places where vegetable remains joccur therein are, as far as 
my own knowledge extends, at Drewsteignton and Dunsford, 
where calamites, Slices, and a few other plants, are occasion- 
ally foimd. 

The animal remains, I believe, are confined to the Posi- 
donia, not unfrequently found in the limestone quarry at 
Drewsteignton, and, I believe, occ€isionally in that at South 
Tawton. Many trials jTor lime have been made in this dis- 
trict, but the above are the oiily places where lime has been 
worked. At South Tawton lime has been got many years, 
but the great extension of the quarries took place in 1800. 
The quarries at Dewsteignton were worked extensively before 
the commencement of the last century. The present area of 
the largest quarry at Drewsteignton is about one acre and ten 
perches ; the greatest depth is about 224 feet. Near the top 
there are nine beds of lime rock, averaging about 18 inches 
in thickness, with yellow shales between the beds. Below 
these are beds varying from one to five feet in thickness, 
occupying a depth of about 20 feet, and these contain one- 
seventh part of lime. The next division consists of beds 
averaging about 30 inches in thickness, occupying a depth of 
about 100 feet, and these contain two-fifths of lima In one 
of the lower beds, about 200 feet from the surface, the Posi- 
donia is found. Trials showed that below these beds the 
per centage of lime diminished. These beds are confined to 
small districts at South Tawton and Drewsteignton. The 
lime at both places is very similar in character ; it is good for 



0^ CARBONIFEROUS BEDS. 125 

agricultural purposes, and is an excellent hydraulic cement : 
it sets rather more slowly than the lias lime, but becomes 
harder and more durable. One ton of Welsh coal calcines 
six tons and eight hundred weight of lime rock at Drews- 
teignton. 

The greatest part of the mineral wealth of Devon is found 
in the carboniferous beds near Tavistock ; the mines rapidly 
decrease in number in a northerly direction from that town, 
imtil, at Bamsleigh, about the centre of the northerly end of 
Dartmoor, the copper ceases. 

The westerly part of the district now noticed is situate in 
or adjoining to the parish of Okehampton. Polwhele, in his 
History of Devon, in 1798, mentions a copper mine at Oke- 
hampton that had been worked for some years, and was then 
long since abandoned. Lysons, in his History of Devon (1822), 
states that the Wheal Oak, near that town, was abandoned 
jn 1808, and adds, that "by enquiry at Okehampton he could 
not find out that any copper mine had ever been worked 
there with success." The ohief trials for copper of a more 
recent date in this district have been at the Wheal Forest, 
the Devon Mine, and the Okehampton Consols, on the West 
Okement ; Holestock and a mine above the bridge in Oke- 
hampton town, on the East Okement ; Ivy Tor and Copper 
Hill, now united and forming Belstone Consols, on the river 
Tavy; and the Fursdon Manor Mine, at Bamsleigh, to the 
south-east of Sticklepath. Of these the Okehampton Consols, 
Belston Consols, and the Manor Mine are at work. 

Silver lead is found in a cross course at Okehampton Con- 
sols, and at Holestock, and traces of lead have been found in 
the new mine at Copper HilL At Beewbeer, near Spreyton, 
workings for lead have been carried on, but they are now 
abandoned. 

Bismuth is found in the mispickel at Ivy Tor Mina 

Amongst the various forms in which iron occurs are mag- 
netic iron pyrites, near Meldon (marked Elmdon in the 
Ordnance survey) ; specular iron, at Wheal Forest ; limonite, 
near Copper HilL Mispickel and iron pyrites are of frequent 
occurrence. 

These metalliferous minerals, it will be observed, do not 
occur near the edge of the granite to the east of the Manor 
Mine at Bamsleigh. 

Manganese has been worked at a mine in Drewsteignton 
parish, near Stone Cross. It is also found at the Drew- 
steignton Quarries. 

nie non-metalliferous minerals that most frequently occur 



126 ON CARBONIFEROUS BEDS. 

in this district are quartz (in many forms), actinolite, axinite 
garnet, lime (chiefly as carbonate), bar3rta, and chiastolite. 

Actinolite occurs at Wheal Forest and Ivy Tor, and, I 
believe, at the Manor Mine ; but I have not seen it to the 
east of that place. 

Garnet is found at Wheal Forest. It is mixed with the 
magnetic pyrites and with the iron in the neighbourhood of 
Meldon. At Copper Hill Mine a vein of garnet at least 180 
feet in thickness crosses the works in a direction nearly from 
east to west, having lodes of copper on both sides, and the 
copper is mixed with the garnet. Near this mine in one 
place it is found forming a pseudomorph with limonite. At 
the Manor Mine the garnet and copper are mixed together, 
and it occurs in the adjoining strata. To the east of this 
mine I have not seen a crystal of garnet. The garnet varies 
greatly both in size and character at the different places at 
which it occurs. 

Felspar occurs as small detached crystals of adularia on* 
the quartz and axinite crystals a^ Wheal Forest and Ivy Tor, 
and is also found compact at that last mina Except in con- 
nection with the granite and some dykes of apparently fel- 
spathic trap, I have not seen this mineral to the east of Ivy 
Tor. 

Chiastolite I have only found at Holestock. Baryta occurs 
occasionally both at the mines and quarries. 

Axinite is here a mineral of frequent occurrence. At 
Wheal Forest it exists in veins, and fine crystals in groups 
there occur. At Meldon Quarry and in that vicinity it is 
found mixed with the iron. At the mines of Belstone Consols 
it occurs. At the Manor Mine it is mixed with the copper, 
and is found in the adjoining rock. It occurs in the quarries 
to the east of that mine, near Whiddon Down, at the trial 
shaft near Bradford Pool, and with the Cherty rocks at 
Nattenhole Ball to the north of that place, and there it 
ceases. Thus lead, bismuth, and felspar (except as above 
mentioned) have, it is believed, not been found to the east of 
Ivy Tor; copper, garnet, and actinolite not to the east of 
the Manor Mine, and axinite not to the east of Nattenhole 
Ball. None of the above minerals, except quartz, lime, and 
baryta, I believe, occur to the east of a dyke of felspathic 
trap near that place, which will shortly be noticed, until 
the lead again appears in proximity to the greenstone at 
Christow. 

The carboniferous rocks to the west of Dartmoor are 
greatly broken up by dykes and intruded masses of green- 



ON CARBONIFEEOUS BEDS. 127 

stone, or trappean rock ; and on the adjoining part of the 
carboniferous beds to the north of Dartmoor, dykes of a 
similar character occur. The greenstone dykes by Belstone 
Consols and Sticklepath are of a highly crystalline nature, 
containing occasionally much hornblende. One of these 
dykes pcisses through the workings at Copper Hill to the 
south of the broad garnet vein before mentioned. Gherty 
and siliceous beds, occasionally containing coarse jasper and 
calcedony, are found in the vicinity of these dykes. Trap- 
pean rocks were not known to exist in the carboniferous beds 
near the granite to the east of Sticklepath until Mr. J. Pitt 
Pitts, of Drewsteignton, in the spring of this year (1867), 
directed my attention to rocks in his fields, which, on exami- 
nation, appear to be part of a dyke of felspathic trap. This 
dyke is situate to the east of Nattenhole Ball, and to the 
north of Stone Cross, and consists of bands of a bluish grey 
felspathic trap, alternating with a cream-coloured granitoid 
rock (both greatly resembling those lying to the north of 
Whiddon Down Quarry), and ranging nearly from K by N. 
to W. by S. This, as before mentioned, is the most easterly 
known trappean dyke in this district, until the greenstone 
again appears near Christow. To the south-east of Stone 
Cross, as before mentioned, manganese has been worked. 

The carboniferous rocks along the north of Dartmoor are 
occasionally contorted ; they are broken up by frequent dis- 
locations, and the amount of dip is very variable ; the average 
direction is a little west of north. The most interesting 
feature in the eastern part of this district is the intrusion 
of veins of elvan or granite. Sir Henry De la Beche, in 
the Report on the Geology of Cornwall, West Devon, and 
Somerset, mentions elvans in the carboniferous rocks at 
Arscot, near South Zeal, and at the west of Hatherleigh, and 
adds, " Dykes of this kind had not been detected on the east 
of Dartmoor." In a paper communicated to the Geological 
Society in May, 1859, 1 mentioned various new localities on 
the north-east, and since that time several other dykes have 
been discovered. Those now known, near the edge of the 
granite, are near the place at Meldon where the white granite 
is found ; on Cocktree Moor to the south of North Tawton ; 
on the road to Cawsand by Cawsand Farm and Oldridge; 
at Hunts Tor, Sharpy Tor Rocks, and Whiddon Park on the 
Teign ; on the road from Cranbrook Castle to Fingle Bridge ; 
and on the road descending the hill to the west of Cranbrook 
Farm. 

The nature of the veins in the granite is well shown by 




128 ON CARBONIFEROUS BEDS. 

those at Hunts Tor and Sharpy Tor. At the first named 
place, an horizontal section is given at the top of the Tor of 
one vein 11 feet wide, and of the carboniferous rock traversed 
by many veins of granite for the space of about 44 feet At 
the last, a vertical section of a vein about 18 feet wide is 
shown on the side of the liilL 

The granite or elvan veins in the district at the goige of 
the Teign, near Hunts Tor, vary in breadth from a hair to 
18 feet. In the narrow veins the granite is highly crystalline, 
and the component particles are small ; in the central part of 
the wide veins, as in the 18 foot vein, the felspar crystals are 
large and coarse, and diminish in size towaixls the sides of 
the veins. Crystals of schorl often occur by the sides, some- 
times forming a small dotted line, and sometimes projecting 
into the vein at right angles to the side. Fragments from 
the adjoining carboniferous rocks are imbedded veiy often 
in the granite, sometimes not quite detached from the native 
rock; for the most part, they retain the angles perfect, 
but in the larger veins the edges are occasionally rounded, 
as if the mass had undergone attrition, but neither in these 
imbedded fragments, nor in the beds adjoining the aides of 
the vein, does there appear to be any change in the nature 
of the rock. Sir Henry De la Beche showed, and his obser- 
vations have been confirmed by Mr. Pengelly and Mr. Vicary, 
that the Devonshire granite is of a more recent date than 
the carboniferous rocks, and of one prior to that of the new 
red sandstone. That the carboniferous beds were a compact 
consolidated rock prior to the injection of the granite, is 
evident from the way in which it passes between the beds 
and along the partings, penetrating gently but forcibly, yet 
not crushing the rock. That a further action has taken 
place since the injection of the granite, is shown by lines of 
parting crossing through to the opposite side of the vein, a 
continuous vein of schorl occasionally passing in a line 
through the granite vein, and the carboniferous rocks on 
each side. 

To the north-east of Willistone Farm, siliceous beds and 
veins of schorl exist in carboniferous rocks, and in their close 
mnsported blocks of that rock containing veins of 
granite occur: from this, it is probable that such exists 
there in situ, but their position is not known. With this 
exception, the carboniferous beds from Fingle Bridge to the 
point near Bridfoixl, where the edge of the granite turns in 
a southerly direction, and the district noticed in these pages 
terminates, do not, it is believed, require any special notice. 



THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN IN THE SOUTH-WEST 
OF ENGLAND. 

BY W. PENQELLT, F.B.S., F.G.8., ETC. 



It is generally admitted that the present very prevalent 
belief in the high antiquity of man is in a great degree 
ascribable, either directly or indirectly, to the results obtained, 
in 1858, from the systematic exploration of Brixham Cavern. 
Thus, Mr. Prestwich says, " It was not until I had myself 
witnessed the conditions under which these flint implements 
had been found at Brixham, that I became fully impressed 
with the validity of the doubts thrown upon the previously 
prevailing opinions with respect to such remains in Caves."* 
In like manner, Sir C. Lyell states that " the facts brought to 
light in 1858 during the systematic investigation of the 
Brixham Cave, near Torquay in Devonshire .... prepared 
the way for a general admission that scepticism in r^ard to 
the bearing of Cave evidence in favour of the antiquity of 
man had previously been pushed to an extreme."! 

Windmill Hill, in the town of Lower Brixham, in which 
the Cavern is situated, rises to the height of 175 feet al>ove 
mean tide. It is bounded on the south by the sea, and on 
the other three sides by valleys which separate it from hills 
of similar height. The Cavern has four external entrances 
— ^three on the western and one on the northern slopes of the 
hill — about 78 feet above the bottom of the existing valleys 
immediately beneath, and 100 feet above mean tide. Within 
the memory of persons still living in the town, the northern 
valley was fully fifteen feet deeper than it is at present, it 
having been to that extent filled up by the artificial lodgment 
of rubbish, in order to the formation of the principal thorough- 
fate to the busy harbour. Prior to this, the tide occasionally 
flowed up the valley above the point immediately below the 

• * Phil. Trans, for 1860, part iL, page 280. 

t "Antiquity of Man/' page 2. 1863. See also page 96; and the 
same authors '* Elements of Geology,** sixth edition, page 124 1865. 
VOL. II. K 



130 THE ANTIQUITY OF BiAN 

Cavern entrance. The natural bottom of the valley, at that 
time, consisted of vegetable remains lying on, and rooted in 
blue clay of unknown depth, being, in fact, a portion of the 
Submerged Forest which covers a large part of the bottom of 
Torbay, where it has been traced sea-ward to the five fathoms 
line. 

Similar and coeval forests are well known to exist on 
the opposite shores of all the British seas and channels. 
They everywhere present the same phenomena, among which 
may be specially mentioned large vertical stumps of trees, 
having roots and rootlets ramifying to considerable distances 
through the clay. They have been described by a large 
number of observers, and it may be safely concluded that 
they are the remains of forests in sUu, carried to their pre* 
sent level by a general, uniform, and tranquil subsidence of 
the British Archipelago, and of, at least. Western Europe. 
Ever3rwhere the change of level appears to be the same, the 
stumps in situ are always vertical, and the roots have the 
same relation to the horizontal plane as they must have had 
when growing. Mixed with the vegetable remains, which 
are those of such species of plants and trees as still exist in 
the neighbourhood, there have been found the bones of the 
mammoth, JSlephas jyrimigenius ; long-ironted ox. Bos longi- 
frons ; red-deer, horse, and wild-hog. In the Torbay forest a 
human implement, made of the antler of the red-deer, was 
found twelve feet below the surface.* Sub-aerial prolongations 
of the forests extend, in many instances, up the adjacent 
valleys, and occasionally reach the level of fifty feet and 
upwards above mean tide. 

Of these sunken forests, one exists in Mount's Bay in 
Cornwall, and was mentioned by Leland, in his " Itinerary," 
upwards of 300 years ago. It has frequently been described 
by subsequent authors, especially by Dr. Borlase in 1758, and 
Dr. Boase in 1826. The former states that in this forest he 
found an oak tree three feet in diameter ; and that in Snother 
instance the whole course of the roots, 18 feet long and 12 
feet wide, was displayed in a horizontal position.! According 
to Dr. Boase, the trees he observed were commonly from six 
to twelve inches in diameter ; the wood being chiefly hazel, 
with some examples of alder, elm, and oak. About a foot 
below the surface of the bed, he found the chief part of the 
mass to be composed of leaves, amongst which were numerous 

* Traus. Devon. Association fur 18S5, pages 30-42 ; and Sir C. Lyell's 
** Principles of GJeology," tenth edition, voL L, pages 54«5-e. 
t " Natural History of Cornwall,*' pages 221-3. 175a 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 131 

perfect shells of hazel-nuts, filaments of moss» with stems and 
seed vessels of small plants and grasses ; together with frag- 
ments of insects, particularly of the elytra and mandibles of 
the beetle tribe, which still displayed the most beautiful 
shining colours when first dug up.* 

In the deposits found in the Brixham Cavern, and nuxed 
up with the flint tools of man and the bones of extinct 
animals, there were numerous well-rounded fragments of 
quartz, trap, and brown hematite of iron, none of which could 
have been derived from Windmill Hill — which is exclusively 
limestone, — or naturally transported to it with anything like 
the existing deep valleys by wliich it is bounded. In other 
words, the Cavern received its deposits when the valleys 
were fully 100 feet less deep than they are at present. The 
arrangenient of the materials too is confirmatory of this ; it 
being such as to indicate that they had been introduced and 
lodged by a small stream flowing persistently through the 
cave, at a time when the bottom of the valley was on the 
level of the cavern entrances, — by such a mill-stream, in 
fact, as now flows through the same, but deeper valley. 

From the foregoing facts, it follows that since the bone 
and implement-bearing earth was carried into the cavern, the 
following changes have been wrought in the district : — 

1st, and earliest The depth of the valley was increased 
by at least 100 feet. 

2nd. After its excavation was completed, the valley was 

partially re-fiUed by the lodgment in it of a mass of blue clay. 

3rd. In this clay grew a forest, which afibrded shelter to 

wild animals, some of them belonging to species which had 

become extinct prior to the times of history or tradition. 

4th. The entire country underwent a general, imiform, and 
tranquil subsidence to the extent of, at least, 40 feet. 

5th. Though the time required for and represented by the 
forgoing changes must have been great, it failed to fiU the 
interval between the present day and the earliest traces of 
man in Devonshire. The submergence of the forests was not 
a thing of yesterday. In order to a determination of the 
antiquity of man in south-western England, to the time 
already demanded must be added that which has elapsed 
since the last adjustment of the relative level of sea and land. 
It is frequently asked, *' How long ago did the Devonshire 
Cave-Men live?" and some degree of disappointment and, 
perhaps, impatience is manifested at the reply that "at present 
it is impossible to convert geological time into astronomical." 
* Trans. Boyal GeoL Soc of Cornwall, toL iii , page 166, &o. 1826. 

K 2 



132 THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

Before the astronomer, in 1832 * had determined the parallax 
of Alpha Centauri, all that he could say respecting the dis- 
tance of the fixed stars was this : "I know that if the parallax 
of the nearest star amounted to as much as one second of arc 
it could be measured with accuracy, and that the distance of 
the star from us would be 200,000 times that of the sun. 
This distance therefore is a minimum. Again, assuming that 
the stars are all of the same size and radiate light of the 
same intrinsic brightness, I know that if of two stars the 
apparent brightness of one is four or nine times less than 
that of the other, the former is two or three times further off 
than the latter respectively ; and so on for other degrees of 
apparent brightness. On these assumptions I can safely speak 
of relative stellar distances, but I cannot convert them into 
miles and leagues." In the same way, all that the geologist 
can at present hope to do in the way of determining the 
distance in time of a recent geological event is to prove a 
minimum. The aim in this communication is to show that 
the submergence of the forests took place more than 2,000 
years ago. 

It appears to be possible to obtain information on the 
question immediately before us, from three different and 
independent sources ; — The Thickness and character of the 
detrital Accumulations overling the forests, the Amplitude 
of the existing Foreshore, and Human History. 

Though the volume of the deposits lodged on the forests is 
in many cases difficult of ascertainment, the stream-tin works 
carried on in some of the Cornish valleys have disclosed 
valuable and trustworthy information on this point. The 
miners have in several instances dug their way down through 
thick accumulations until they have reached remnants of tlie 
forests distinctly in siUi. Amongst the most notable cases 
are those of Pentuan and Camon on the southern coast of 
the county. 

The Pentuan works, which were described in 1829 by Mr. 
Colenso,t father of the present Bishop of Natal, lay in a 
valley near the harbour of Pentuan. This valley varies in 
breadth from 300 to upwards of 600 feet. ITie deposits are 
confined to the terminal four miles of the valley, the fall of 
which, at the base of the accumulation, is 45 feet per mile, a 
total of 180 feet, or an inclination of half a degree. In 
descending order, the succession of deposits was as below : 

* Henohers Outlines of Astronomy, fifth edition, page 687. 185& 
t Trans. Roy. GeoL Soo. of Cornwall, yoL iv., page 29, &o, 1829. 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 133 

FT. IK. 

1. A bed of rough Riysr-sand and Gravel, here and there 
mixed with sra-savd and silt . . . . . 20 

2. ScA-Si^ifD, containing timber trees, chiefly oaks, lying in all 
directions ; and also the remains of animals, such as the red-deer ; 
heads of oxen, the horns of which all turn downwards ; bones of 

a large whale ; and, near the bottom of the bed, human skulls.* 20 

3. Sii/r. About the middle of this bed, wood and bones occur 

in a persistent layer of stones of various sizes and forms . 2 

4. Sea-sand .04 

5. Silt, containing recent marine shells, wood, hazel-nuts, 
bones and horns of deer and oxen. The shells are frequently 
found in layers, and the bivalves are often closed, with the hinge 
downwards. About two feet below the surface of this bed was 
found " a piece of oak that had been brought into form by the 
hand of man." It was about six feet long, one inch and a half 
broad, and less than half an inch thick. A small barnacle was 

fixed to one end . . . . . . 10 

6. Vbgetable Band, composed of leaves, hazel-nuts, sticks, 
and moss; fn>m six to twelve inches. This band was 30 feet 
below the level of low water, and 48 feet below that of spring- 
tide high water . . . .08 

7. Dark Sii;r, with decomposed vegetable matter . .10 

8. Tin-Ground. This bed contains the whole of the stream- 
tin, and lies on the solid rock. It consists mainly of consider- 
ably-rounded fragments of granite, similar to that of the hills 
near St Austell. It also contains stones of clay-slate (killas), and 
greenstone, which are but little rounded, and other rock frag- 
ments. The stones are mixed with sand, with the occasional 
addition of yellow clay. The tin-ground is not known to have 
yielded any animal remains, but at the top of the bed are found 
stumps of trees, including oaks having their roots in their natural 
position, and traceable to their smallest fibres even so deep as 
two feet An oysteivbed was found on the top of this bed, the 
shells being fastened to some of the large stones and the stumps 

of trees . . . . 3 to 10 

The Caraon Section was described, also in 1829, by Mr. 
Henwood, F.R.8., F.G.s.,t whose large experience as an observer 
and a writer is a guarantee for the correctness of his details. 
The Camon works were situated very near the extremity of 
a navigable branch of the Fal, which receives many rivulets 
draining hills of clay-slate and granite, and, at the works, is 
about 300 yards in breadth. The deposits, in descending 
order, were : 

FT. in. 

1. River Sand and mud . . . . .30 

2. Silt, with recent rmrineX shells . . . 10 

* One of the human skulls and the remains of the whale, &c., were 
presented by Mr. Colenso to the Museum of the Qeological Society at 
Fenzance, where they stiU exist 

t Trans. Royal GeoL Soc. of Cornwall, voL iv.. page 57, &c, 1829. 

t Mr. Henwood kindly informed me of the character of the shells, i^ 
reply to a question on the subject 



FT. 


ur. 


8 





18 





3 


6 


18 





20 





1 


6 


4 






134 THE ANTIQUmr OF MAN 

3. Saitd, with recent marine ahellB .... 

4. Silt ....••. 
6. Sakd, with recent marine shells, from three to four feet 

6. Silt, with large quantities of recent marine shells . 

7. Sn/r, in some puu^s containing stones, from eighteen to 
twen^-two feet ....... 

8. VBOKTABLB Bkd, containing moss, leares, nuts, &c., a few 
oyster shells, remains of deer and other mammals, and some 
homan skuUs ....... 

9. Tin-Qround, averaging ..... 

From private information from Mr. Henwood, it appears 
that the top of the section was from 12 to 15 feet below the 
level of spring-tide high water; hence the top of the tin 
ground was at least 67 feet below this level 

Sir Henry De la Beche quotes the foregoing sections in his 
"Eeport on Devon and Cornwall," and adds, but not from hia 
own observations, that in the valley extending from Lower St. 
Columb by Treloy towards Tregoss Moor, on the north coast 
of Cornwall, "the tin-ground was covered by marine deposits 
to a certain height up the valley," and that "here also, as on 
the south, a bed in which vegetable remains were abundant, 
chiefly oak trees, the roots of which were described as stand- 
ing in the position in which they appear to have grown, 
rests upon the tin-ground towards the sea-ward termination 
of the valley."* 

From the foregoing facts it may be inferred : 

1st. That, as at Brixham, a vast interval of time must 
have elapsed since the completion of the excavation of the 
Pentuan, Camon, and Lower St Columb valleys. 

2nd. That, in these Cornish valleys, the excavation was 
followed by the lodgment of the stanniferous gravel — answer- 
ing chronologically, in all probability, to the blue clay of 
Brixham valley. 

3rd, That this was succeeded by the growth of such plants 
as now exist in the same districts. 

4th. That the forests were submerged by a general subsi- 
dence of the country, which carried it down to at least 67 
feet lower level. 

5th. That, since the submergence, detrital matter has been 
lodged on the forest ground to the depth of from fifty to 
sixty feet. 

6th. That excepting the upper bed only, these accumu- 
lations were of submarine origin. 

7th. That since man occupied the district, thick deposits 
have been laid down. Human skulls having been found 
♦ " Report," page 405. 1839. 



IN THB SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 135 

forty and fifty-five feet beneath the surface^ at Peutuan and 
Carnon respectively, and a piece of oak which man had 
shaped was met with at a depth of forty-four feet at the 
former locality. 

Though it is true that, on the whole, new stmta cannot be 
deposited more rapidly than pre-existing rocks are abraded, 
it is by no means certain that a deposit of great thickness 
may not be accumulated in a comparatively short time ; as, 
for example, when a change in the velocity or direction of a 
stream removes it from one area of deposition to another. 
There is little or no probability, however, that this has been 
the case when, as in the instances before us, the accumulations 
consist of distinct and dissimilar beds, and especially when 
marine shells are found at all levels in what there is reason 
to believe were the habitats of moUusks. 

Except in a very few cases, a re-adjustment of the relative 
level of the sea and land necessarily destroys the previous 
foreshore as a whole, by either raising it above the sea level 
or causing its permanent submergence. In either case the 
waves immediately attack the land forming their new boun- 
dary, and by their ceaseless action cause it to recede further 
and further, and thus a new strand is formed. The rate of 
retrocession is necessarily variable, since it depends on the 
exposure, as well as on the lithology and petralogy of the 
coast; — each of which is a variable element. Tlius some 
parts of the coasts of Devonshire are open to the unchecked 
fury of the Atlantic, whilst others are affected only by 
the waves originating in the narrow channels which wash 
them. Some, like the crystalline schists of the southern 
angle of the county, are so hard, so fine-grained, and so little 
traversed by divisional planes as to be eminently calculated 
to endure ; whilst the sandstones and marls extending from 
the Exe eastwards, waste rapidly even under the comparatively 
gentle touch of the atmosphere or of land springs. In some 
cases the strata incline towards the waves at a gentle angle, 
and, offering little resistance, are but little affected ; whilst 
others overhang in such a way as to compel their relatively 
rapid destruction. But whether rapidly or slowly formed, it 
is obvious that the breadth of the foreshore and the rate of 
its formation would suffice for the determination of the time 
it represents, — the period which has elapsed since the last 
adjustment of the relative level of sea and land. 

In this communication, the existing foreshore may be re- 
garded as partly tidal and partly submarine, and may be 



136 THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

defined as the space lying between the cliffs which the waves 
assail during the most boisterous gales at spring-tide high 
water, and the line of breakers during similar weather at the 
lowest retreat of the tides. The waves are constantly wearing 
down the ledges on which they are precipitated in the latter 
case, and will only cease to do so when the obstacles are so 
reduced as to be impediments no longer. Their breaking 
line, therefore, gradually travels landward ; hence the fore- 
shore can never exceed, but may fall short of the entire 
space on which the sea has encroached since the last adjust- 
ment of level. 

That part of Devonshire where, both lithologically and 
petitdogically, it might have been expected the rocks were 
most capable of defying the waves is undoubtedly the coast 
lying between the Start and Prawle Points— the region of 
the crystalline schists. On the other hand, it is a district 
fully exposed to the south-westerly waves which, under the 
influence of the most prevalent wind, are constantly coming 
up the Channel from the Atlantic. In this district the cliffs 
have so retreated as to leave a foreshore, as above defined, 
which, as I am informed by the Coast-guard Station Master 
at Prawle, is a full quarter of a mile in breadth. Eemember- 
ing that this is necessarily a minimum, it appears difficult to 
believe that this, by no means a solitary case, can be the 
work of less than several thousand years. 

The readers of Bede and the other early English chroniclers 
are aware that they all, so to speak, take their stand on the 
existing levels. It is true that certain towns which they 
mention have been swallowed by the sea, and that some 
harbours of resort in their day have long been silted up and 
useless; but these changes have been effected without any 
alteration of level of either land or sea.* 



* Mr. Whitley, who was present when this paper was read, has been 
so good as to send me tne following important communication : — 
"Penarth, Truro, Aug. 6th, 1867. Mj dear Sir, — I returned from 
N. Devon on Saturday, and I have since referred to my notes on the 
-Roman Embankment at the Wash. I inspected the embankments there, 
in order to the construction of similar works in N. Devon. I found the 
old Roman embankment, marked on the Ordnance Map, is from two to 
four miles now inside the outer fringe of the Marsh lands, from the 
gathering of warp. on the outside. But the Roman Embankment is on 
the same level as the new Embankment built outside to exclude the tide, 
and appears to be strong evidence that no ehange in the level of the 
land has here taken place since the Roman occupation. That the work 
is Roman, I believe there can be no doubt A Roman sword has been 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 137 

Bat besides the evidence of its tacit geography, history 
famishes incidentally several proofs that in certain districts 
many centuries have failed to produce any appreciable change, 
either by alteration of level or by encroachment. Thus, 
Geofifrey of Monmouth, who was made Bishop of St. Asaph 
in 1152,* makes Ulfin give the following description of Tin- 
tagel Castle, on the north coast of Cornwall : " It is situated 
apon the sea, and on every side surrounded by it ; and there 
is bat one entrance into it, and that through a straight rock 
which three men shall be able to defend against the whole 
power of the kingdom."t This is, of course, intended by the 
author to be a correct description of the place at the date he 
gives (492) ; it is obvious, however, that this cannot be in- 
sisted on, especially in a work so very romantic as the 
"British History;" but it maybe safely concluded that it 
accurately describes the topography of this celebrated spot 
in the Bishop's lifetime, and that he was not aware of any 
record or tradition of any change, of any kind, which rendered 
it inapplicable during the fifth century. His description, 
however, is strictly correct at present; hence, taking the 
most recent date, fully 700 years have produced no appre- 
ciable retrocession there ; yet, from its exposure, the coast is 
by no means one unlikely to be impressible; and indeed 
every one familiar with it must be aware that since the last 
change in the level of the country, considerable encroach- 
ments have been made. 

Bobert of Gloucester, a monk of Gloucester Abbey (1280), 
puts the same description into the mouth of "Ulfyn": 

"And when the knight heard this, 
* Sir,' he said, * I ne can wit, what rede hereof is, 
For the castle is so strong, that the lady is in, 
For I ween all the land ne should it myd strengthe win. 
For the sea goeth all about, but entrj'^ one there n 'is. 
And that is up on hanle rocks, and so narrow way it is, 
That there may go but one and one, that throe men within 
Might slay all the land, ere they come therein.'*' J 

Cases of this kind might be multiplied did time allow, but 
I will now proceed to call attention to a very remarkable 

found in it, and Roman coiDS and other works of art in or near it ; and 
Roman roads in the neighbourhood. Please use this in any way you 
think proper. Yours most truly, Nicna Whitlet. 

* Dr. Giles's Preface to *'Six Old English Chronicles," page 8. 
Bohn's edition. 

t Oeoffre/s " BritiBh History," book viiL, chap. xix. Bohn's edition. 

% The Lo»-known British Poets." By Rev. G. GilfiUan, vol L, page xxii. 
1800. 



138 THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

iDstance, that of St Michael's Mouut in CorawalL This 
celebrated spot has a veiy voluminous literature, for it has 
claimed the attention of poets — amongst them Spencer, Mil^ 
ton, Warton, and Bowles — historians, divines, antiquaries, 
archssologists, romancists, and men of science. It is well 
known that the Mount is an island at every high water, and 
with rare exceptions, a peninsula at every low water. Its 
distance from Marazion Cliff— the nearest point of the main- 
land — to spring-tide high-water mark on its own strand is, as 
Col. Sir Henry James obligingly informs me, about 1680 feet. 
The tidal isthmus consists of the outcrop of highly inclined 
Devonian slate and associated rocks, and in most cases is 
covered with a thin layer of gravel or sand. At spring tides, 
in still weather, it is at high water about twelve feet below, 
and at low water six feet above, the sea level In fine 
weather it is dry from four to five hours every tide; but 
occasionally, during very stormy weather and neap tides, it is 
impossible to cross from the mainland for two or three days 
together. Sir Walter Scott, when painting Holy Island on the 
Northumbrian coasts produced, at the same time, a striking 
portrait of the Mount : 

** The tide now did its flood-mark gain. 
And girdled in the Saint's domain : 
For, with the flow and ebb, its style 
Varies from continent to isle ; 
Dry-shod, o'er sands, twice every day. 
The pilgrims to the shrine find way ; 
Twice every day the waves efface 
Of staves and sandalled feet the trace." 

Marmiotiy canto ii., stanza 9. 

The Mount is an isolated mass of granite, measuring at 
its base about five furlongs in circumference,* and rising to 
the height of 195 feet above mean-tide. At high- water it 
plunges abruptly into the sea, except on the northern or 
landward side, where the granite comes into contact with 
the slate. Here there is a small plain occupied by a village, 
acyacent to which is the harbour, which was built in 172(j-7, 
and, as Mr. Johns, the harbour master, kindly informs me, 
is capable of receiving ships of 500 tons burthen. 

The country immediately behind or north of the town of 
Marazion consists of Devonian strata traversed by traps and 
elvans, and attains a considerable elevation. The town stands 
on a small plain, which terminates in a cliff from twelve to 
twenty feet high. Judging from this cliff, the plain is a sub- 
aerial accumulation of fragments of rock derived from the 

* Private information from J. P. St Aubyn, Esq. 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 139 

adjacent hill, and embedded, without any approach to regu- 
larity of arrangement, in a yellowish clay, which probably 
forms no more than from 30 to 40 per cent, of the entire 
mass. 

It is obvious that, all other things being the same, the 
Mount would be permanently a peninsula if the district were 
raised twelve feet, and always an island if it were six feet 
lower. It must have been the former during the growth of 
the adjacent submerged forest; and its insulation was neces- 
sarily the result either of the subsidence by which the forest 
area was carried below the sea level, or of a suhseqtient retreat 
of the Marazion cliff in consequence of the wasting action 
of the waves. 

There can be no doubt that the Marazion plain is some- 
what ill-adapted, if much exposed, to resist the encroaching 
tendency of the sea; the vertical cliff in which it terminates 
suggests the idea, that the waves have shorn it of some part 
of its area; and this suggestion is apparently strengthened 
by the fact, that in some places the cliff is bounded by a sea- 
wall. A careful study of the plain, however, shows that 
though the space between its margin and some of the Marazion 
houses is scarcely a yard in breadth, the wall is so very 
slender as to indicate that it never could have been intended, 
and was not expected to be called on, to resist powerful 
attempts at encroachment. Moreover, several parts of the 
cliff have never had any artificial protection ; yet these have 
not retreated, even to the extent of a single inch, more than 
those which are defended by the wall. 

Again, the only quarter from which destructive waves can 
be sent to this part of the coast, is that included between 
the quadrant of the horizon between south-west and south- 
east; and on this side they are so effectually intercepted by 
the Mount, as to render it probable that the cliffs have wasted 
scarcely more rapidly than has the natural granite breakwater 
which defends them. Masters of coasting vessels are well 
aware of the shelter the Mount affords. The harbour, like 
the neighbouring one at Penzance, is artificial ; but the small 
wind-bound craft prefer the former, where they are never 
inconvenienced by any storm; whilst at the latter it occa- 
sionally happens that shipping can scarcely be held to their 
moorings, and, to use a nautical expression, almost thump 
out their bottoms on taking the ground. From information 
which, during a recent visit to the spot, I obtained from 
intelligent natives, familiar with the district during the last 
seventy -five years, it appears that there has been no loss 



140 THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

of area during that time; but that further east, where the 
Mount affords no shelter, there has been "a great loss of 
ground." This, from measurements taken on the spot under 
the direction of my informants, I found to have been at the 
rate of about thirty-three feet in a century. 

If, from the foregoing data, the retrocession of the sheltered 
cliffs be taken at ten feet in a century — probably a high 
estimate — the Mount could not have become an island within 
the last 16,800 years; and it must be borne in mind, that 
on the hypothesis at present under review — insulation by 
encroachment alone — the submergence of the forests must 
have been still earlier. 

Dr. Boase and other geologists have called attention to the 
fact that the "Greens" or sandbanks, which form the coasts 
immediately east and west of Penzance — the former extending 
almost to the Mount, — have wasted at a rate greatly exceeding 
any of the figures just given.* To apply this rate to the 
Marazion plain, however, would be utterly fallacious, for the 
" Greens" consist of loose sand exposed to the unchecked 
fury of the waves. Moreover, though the waste is admitted, 
there is a difference of opinion as to its eavse, Mr. Edmonds, 
a native and resident of considerable experience, states that 
'' in the course of the year the sea always deposits more than 
it withdraws. The great cause of the lessening of the banks 
appears to be the constant abstraction of the adjacent sand 
and pebbles, between low and high water, for manure, ballast^ 
road -making, building, and other purposes."! Dr. Boase 
ascribes the loss of area partly to human, and partly to 
natural agency. "This fragile bulwark," he says, "daily and 
visibly wastes through the operation of two powerful causes 
of consumption; viz., the quantities carried off for manure, 
and other uses by the inhabitants of the adjacent country, 
and the continual encroachment of the sea."t 

Though the hypothesis of insulation by encroachment 
only, carries back the era of submergence fully 17,000 years 
from the present time, the rival supposition — that the sever- 
ance of the Mount from the mainland was the result of the 
subsidence of the country — leaves the chronology of the 
event an open question. It may have happened in more 
modern or in more ancient times; but it must not be forgotten 
that the forests, which the subsidence carried down, go back 
to the Mammoth era, that, since their submergence, a broad 

♦ Trans. Roy. Geol. Soc. of Cornwall, vol. iil, page 166, &c 1826. 

t " The Land's End Dbtrict," page 154, &c. 1862. 

t Trans. Roy. Qeol. Soc. of Cornwall, vol. iil, page 129, &c 1822. 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 141 

foreshore has been formed through the waste of the cliffs, 
and thick deposits have been lodged in many valleys of the 
district. 

Histocy, as has been already stated, is by no means silent 
respecting the Mount; and to it we turn for such information 
as it may be capable of giving on the question before us. 

St Keyna is said to have made a pilgrimage to the Mount, 
and there to have met St Cadoc, another pilgrim, about the 
year 490.* An apparition of St Michael is said to have 
been seen on the Mount in a.d. 495, or, as some assert, in 
710.t It is of no avail to object that, at least, the latter event 
is improbable. The well-established fact that its occurrence 
was taught and believed is sufficient for our purpose, since it 
warrants the opinion that the monkish chroniclers would 
certainly have mentioned so important an occurrence as the 
severance from the mainland of a spot so sacred. Nor was 
the belief in this sanctity of brief dumtiou. Edward the 
Confessor (1041 -66) granted a charter to a body of monks 
already established there;! and according to William of 
Worcester, — whose visit to the Mount is commonly stated to 
have been during the reign of Edward the Fourth (1461- 83),§ 
and by Dr. Oliver in the year 1478 1|— "Pope Gregory, in the 
year 1070,"1F granted to "the Church in the Mount of St 
Michael in Tumba in the county of Cornwall ..... that 
all the faithful who enriched that church with their benefac- 
tions and alms, or visited it, should be forgiven a third part 
of their penances."** William adds, "These words were found 
in ancient registers lately discovered in this church," and 
" they are publicly placed here on the doors of the church." 

From detailed descriptions still in existence, it appears 
that the dimensions of the Mount, and its distance from the 

* Borlase^s *' Antiquities, &a, of Ck)rnwall,*' second ed., page 385. 1769. 

t William of Worcester's " Itineraria." 

t Dr. Oliver's "Monasticon Diocesis Exoniensis/' pa^re 29, 1846; and 
D. Gilbert, in the "Parochial History of Cornwall,*' by Hals and 
Tonkin, vol. ii, cage 209. 1838. 

§ Lysons' '* Magna Britannia,*' voL liL, page 139. 1814. 

II " Monasticon.^* 

IT There appears to be some discrepancy here, as there was no Pope 
Gregory in 1070 ; Alexander 11. being the occupant of the papal chair 
from 1061 to 1073. Gregory VI. was deposed in 1046, and Hildebrand, 
who took the name of Gregory VII., and is frequently called " Saint 
Gregory," was elected 22nd of April, 1073, and which indeed in bis 
mode of dating was 1074. (Nicolas's Chron. Hist. Cab. Cyc, pa^e 188. 
1833.) William's words are, ^*Anno ah incartione dorrnni mtliesimo 
$eptuaqessimo** 

♦♦ "Itineraria," 



143 THE AXTIQUITT OF MAK 



in the 16tli and 15th centuries much the 
mmt m ai present. LeUnd (1533-'40) says, '^ The cumpace 
of tifte rooce of the Mont of S. Afichapl is not dim" (half) 
-■Tie abooL'* William of Worcester (U78) states that 
-the length of the sea betweoi the town of Markysyoo" 
^SiaiBikMi; -to the foot of the Monnt of St. Afichael contains 
hr estimation mille ec, that is 700 steppys, in English 10 
tmes 70 steppjs."^ As he fiiither states that ''the length 
of the chnich'c^ the Moont of St. Michael contains 30 
sceppjs,^ and that of the - new chapel contains 40 feet or 20 
steppys^'' it is obvious that, according to his estimation, the 
step was two feet, and the length of the church was sixty 
fieet. Now the chnich is still intact, and measoies 65 feet 
3 inches in length, as I learn from Mr. J. P. St. Aubyn, who 
has been so good as to send me a " plan of the principal 
floor ** of the entire building at the summit of the Mount By 
mating the corresponding correction, the space 1)etween the 
mainland and the Mount, instead of 1,400 feet as William 
eaiimaUd^ would be 1,522 feet It is idle, however, to insist 
on even a near approach to accuracy in Ids figures, the pro- 
bability beii^ that at most he only "stepped** the interspace, 
and there being no evidence respecting the terminal points 
of the distance thus roughly measur»L Nevertheless, the 
statement is sufficient to show that the condition of the 
semi -island is now essentially the same as it was four 
centuries ago, and that the rate of waste has been almost 
inappreciably slow. 

Bishop Lacy, on August 10th, 1425, considering the great 
losses of vessels and of lives, during the storms in Mount's 
Bay, encouraged the faithful to complete the stone causeway 
between Marazion and St I^Cchad's Mount;! whence it 
appears that the Mount harbour was then the only one in 
the bay, that it was a considerable resort for shipping, that 
the condition of the Mount was fully as much exposed as it 
is at present^ and that the "Causeway," apparently b^m, 
was not a mere footpath to be used at low water, but was 
intended as a permanent protection for ships. 

The earliest passage, however, believed to be descriptive of 

theMount, is the famous one in Diodorus Siculus. (9 B.C.) 

"Wiving given a description of Britain, that author says, 

"Now we shall speak something concerning the tin that is 

dug and gotten there. They that inhabit the British pro- 

«.T "The Itinerary of John Leland the Antiquary," toL ril, paire lia 
TKifd ediUon. Oxford, 1768. 

t *• Itineraria." % OUver^s « Monasticon," page 28. 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 143 

montory of Belerium" (Lands End), "by reason of their 
oonverse with merchants, are more civilized and courteous to 
straDgera than the rest are. These are the people that make 
the tin, which, with a great deal of care and labour, they dig 
out of the ground, and that being rocky, the metal is mixed 
with some grains of earth, out of which they melt the metal, 
and then refine it ; then they cast it into square pieces like 
a die " (sometimes translated astragalvs), " and carry it to a 
British island near at hand called Iktis ; for at low tide, all 
being dry between them and the island, they convey over in 
carts an abundance of tin in the meantime. (There is one 
thing peculiar to those islands which lie between Britain and 
Europe, for at full sea they appear to be islands, but at low 
water for a long way they look like so many peninsulas.) 
Hence the merchants transport the tin they buy of the in- 
habitants to Gaul ; and for thirty days' journey they carry 
it on packs on horses* backs through Gaul to the mouth of 
the river Rhone." 

From this passage it may be inferred that the account it 
contains was copied from a description by some one who 
had visited Britain; that the Iktis was near the Land's End ; 
that no place in the district afforded superior accommodation 
and shelter for maritime trade ; that it was adjacent to the tin 
country ; and that it was the only commercial station in 
Britain, or that all others were comparatively recent. To these 
inferences, it may be added that the Mount answers admirably 
in every respect to the description of the Iktis ; that it is in 
the midst of the most productive tin mines in Cornwall;* that 
be^des it there is no island which can be supposed to have 
been the spot described by the historian ; and that the geo- 
graphical changes which have taken place in the Land's End 
district within the last two thousand years have been scarcely 
appreciable, or enormously great, according as the Mount is 
or is not the Iktis. 

Notwithstanding the close agreement between them, writers 
are much divided respecting their identification. The subject 
has engaged the pens of many distinguished authors, and 
has long been the theme of an ardent controversy. It is, 
perhaps, noteworthy that the claims of the Mount are gene- 
rally admitted by those who are conversant with the geology 

* " These are found near St Jnst, and between it and Penzance on one 
side ; and Gwennap Redruth, and Camborne on the other: so that twelve 
miles to the west of St Michaers Mount, and eighteen miles to the east 
of it comprehend almost the whole of the tin mining district" (Dr. 
Smith's "Cassiterides," page 114, 1863.) 



144 THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

of the district, whilst most antiquaries deny them ; most of 
the latter admit that the Mount answers well to the descrip- 
tion of the Iktis, but they assert, on the strength of ancient 
legends, that it was far inland in, and, indeed, long aflter, 
the time of Diodorus. 

That a tin trade, such as the ancient historian described, 
was really earned on there can be no reason to doubt. It ia 
interesting, however, to be able to cite a sopiiewhat recent 
discovery as confirmatory evidence. Between forty and fifty 
years ago, some bargemen, dredging for sand opposite St 
Mawes, but not in the harbour, dredged up a block of tin, 
35 inches long, 11 inches wide, and 3 inches thick at the 
centre, perfectly flat on one side, but curved on the other, 
and having four prolongations at the corners, each one foot 
long. Its weight was about 130 lbs. Its form, altogether 
unlike that in which tin is cast in the present day, is believed 
to correspond to that described by Diodorus. It is lodged 
in the Museum of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, at Truro, 
the authorities of which have most obligingly allowed me to 
have a model of it * In 1863, Colonel Sir Henry James 
called attention to its form and weighty and pointed out that 
they were such as to enable two men to carry one of the 
blocks by hand, or a horse to carry two of them by means of 
a sling passing over a pack-saddle; that the curved surface 
exactly fits the curve of the bottom of a boat> while the flat 
surfaces would form a continuous floor, and that the ribs of 
the boat, coming up through the divided ends of the block, 
would prevent the shifting of the cargct 

That, with the exception of the Mount, there is no island 
agreeing with the description of the Iktis, is well seen in the 
fact that those who are sceptical respecting the claims of the 
former, are much divided amongst themselves; some advo- 
cating the pretensions of the Isle of Wight, others, those of 
St. Nicholas Island in Plymouth Sound, the Black Rock at 
the entrance to Falmouth Harbour, the Wolf Rock, or one of 
.the Scilly Isles. 

It is difficult to see on what grounds a case can be made 
out for the Isle of Wight beyond its comparative proximity 
to the continent. To suppose the Cornubians took their tin 
by land to the Hampshire coast, is to suppose the existence 
of good roads and bridges, and such an absence of enmity 
between the British tribes, as to imply a comparatively high 

♦ This Model was exhibited to the Meeting. 

t Forty-fifth Report of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, 1863, 
pages 29 to 33. 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 145 

stete of civilization, utterly incompatible with the indirect 
statement of Diodorus to the effect that, with the exception 
of the dwellers near Belerium, the Britons were wanting in 
civilization and in courtesy to strangers. On the other hand 
the old Sicilian, though he attempts it, totally fails to account 
for the superior courtesy of the Belerians if the Iktis were 
the Isle (rf Wight; for in that case "their converse with 
merchants" must have been much less than that of the 
inhabitants of the Hampshire coast. Moreover, there is no 
evidence whatever that in the time of Diodorus the Isle of 
Wight was a peninsula at low water. The earliest accounts 
we have of it do not so represent it In the narrative of its 
conquest by Vespasian it is spoken of as an island. Bede, 
who closed his Ecclesiastical History in a.d. 731, and died in 
735, when speaking of this conquest, says, " Vespasian, who 
was Emperor after Nero, being sent into Britain by . . . 
Claudius, brought also under the Boman dominion the Isle of 
Wight, which is next to Britain on the south, and is about 
thirty miles in length from east to west, and twelve from 
north to south; being six miles distant from the southern 
coast of Britain at the east end, and three only at the west."* 
The venerable historian subsequently says, "The island is 
situated opposite the division between the South Saxons and 
the Gewissse, being separated fi-om it by a sea, three miles 
over, which is called Solente. In this narrow sea, the two 
tides of the ocean, which flow round Britain from the im- 
mense Northern Ocean, daily meet and oppose one another 
beyond the mouth of the river Homelea" (Hamble) " which 
runs into that narrow sea, from the lands of the Jutes, which 
belong to the country of the Gewissae; after this meeting 
and struggling together of the two seas, they return into the 
ocean from whence they come."t Without insisting on the 
accuracy of the foregoing figures, there can be little doubt that 
there is historical evidence that the condition of the island 
was essentially the same within fifty years after the time of 
Diodorus as it is at present; and it may be regarded as 
absolutely certain that it has undergone no change during the 
last eleven centuries. It is interesting to observe the accu- 
racy of Bede's description of the meeting of the tides in 
Southampton water, a phenomenon which still secures the 
notice of those who speculate on the movements of the tidal 
wave in the British seas-t 

* " Ecclesiastical History of the Enp;lish Nation,** book i., chap. liL 
(Bohn's edition, 1869.) t "Ecclesiastical History," book iv., chap. 16. 
t See Airy in " Encyclop. of Astronomy,** p. 377. 
VOL. II. L 



146 THB ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

St. Nicholas, or Drake's Island is situated in the north* 
west comer of Plymouth Sound, just opposite the entrance to 
Hamoaze, or the estuary of the Tamar. It is about four and 
a half furlongs from the mainland on the west, and three 
from that on the north-west. In the northern, or narrower 
channel the depth of water exceeds that of any other part of 
the Sound, there being at spring-tide low water as much as 
twenty fathoms at some places. The western channel is less 
deep, and is crossed, from the island to the main, by a narrow 
ru^ed ridge of rocks known as the "Bridge,'* on which, 
where deepest, there is not more than one fathom of water at 
low tide. The island is of irregular form, and is about 400 
yards in length, by 140 in greatest breadth.* So far as I am 
aware, Mr. Polwhele is the only writer who has attempted to 
identify St. Nicholas with the Iktis; and it must be admitted 
that his advocacy is not of the most fervid character. ''I 
have," he says, " stated my ideas merely as theoretical At 
all events, I conceive, my readers will agree with me in 
opinion, that St. Nicholas hath as fair a claim to the com- 
mercial pre-heminence (sic) of Iktis as either the Isle of 
Wight, or one of the Scilly Isles, or the Black Bock of 
Falmouth."! 

The width of the entrance to Falmouth Harbour is about 
1080 fathoms, and the Black Bock lies about 180 fathoms west 
of mid-channel: in other words, the Bock is about 360 
fathoms from the western, and 720 from the eastern land. It 
is covered every tide from about half an hour before half- 
flood to OS long after half-ebb. At high-water, it is sub- 
merged to the depth of from seven to ten feet. The dimen- 
sions of the portion left dry do not exceed 100 feet by 60. 
The eastern channel is much deeper than the western ; there 
being as much as nineteen fathoms of water in the former, 
and four and a half only in the latter, at spring-tide low- 
water, t 

Setting aside all other considerations, it seems fatal to the 
pretensions of the Isle of Wight, St. Nicholas Island, and 
the Black Bock, that they are immediately adjacent to ex- 
cellent harbours, of which the traders would probably have 
availed themselves, all other things being the same, rather 
than of semi-insulated stations near them, to which tin could 
have been taken in carts at certain states of the tide only. 

The Wolf Bock lies due west of the Lizard Pointy nearly 

* Private information from Captain W. Walker, R.N. 

t " Historical Views of Devonshire," vol. l, section 8, p. 138. 1793. 

t Private information from Mr. J. S. Enys, f.o.& 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 147 

mid-way between it and the Scilly Isles, being about 27 
miles from the former and 21 from the latter. It is about 8 
miles from Tol Pedn Penwith, the nearest mainland of Corn- 
wall. It is between the 30 and 40 fathoms lines, being 
nearer the latter than the former. It is dry every low-water, 
and the workmen at present engaged in constructing a light- 
house on it are sometimes able to work for six or seven hours 
consecutively. In very fine weather the neap tide high- 
water barely covers it. The area left dry at spring-tide low 
water is estimated at a quarter of an acre. The rock slopes 
gradually towards the south-east^ but on every other part of 
its circumference it is precipitous.* 

The hypothesis that the Iktis was one of the Scilly Islands 
was a fevourite one with the late Dr. Borlase, but, like that of 
the Wolf-rock, it could only be held by those who believe 
that, within the last 2000 years, there has been a subsidence 
by which a tidal strand has been carried to so low a level 
that it is now permanently covered with little less than 40 
fathoms of water; or that some great convulsion has rendered 
it impossible to form any estimate of the rate of the en- 
croachment of the sea. It is not probable that either hypo- 
thesis would ever have been heard of, but for the foregone 
conclusion that the Mount was at some distance from the sea 
in comparatively recent times. 

The following are amongst the objections which have been 
made to the claims of the Mount : — 

1st. That the tidal strand is too limited to be called a 
" long way." 

2nd. That the Mount was not large enough for the trade of 
which the Iktis was the seat. 

3pd. That it is a solitary rock of the kind, whilst Diodorus 
speaks not of an island merely, but of islands. 

4tL That in the Confessor's charter, it is described as ruar 
the sea, not in it. 

5th. That in Domesday Book, it is stated to have been 
much larger than it is now. 

6th. That, according to its ancient British name, it was 
situated within a wood, since the British language was first 
spoken in ComwalL 

7th. That several authors speak of a great loss of land in 
the district 

8th. That this loss is confirmed by the character of the 
sea bottom between the Lands End and Scilly, and by 
articles which have been recovered thence. 

* PiiTate information from Mr. W. J. Henwood, r.iua, f.o.& 

L 2 



148 THE ANTIQUITY OF HAN 

9th. That it is also confirmed by certain family traditions. 

I will proceed to a consideration of these objections^ taking 
them in the order in which they stand. 

1st. "Long" and "short" are comparative terms. To a 
geographer accustomed to the feeble tides of the Mediter^ 
ranean, a breadth of 1680 feet left dry at low water would 
undoubtedly appear to be a "long way ;" indeed, it probably 
exceeds the average breadth in Britain. 

2nd. It was not the ore, but the smelted tin which was 
taken to the Iktis. That the Mount was not only large 
enough, but much larger than was required for all the traffic 
— unless the early trade in tin greatly exceeded that in 
modem times — may be safely inferred from the following 
statement^ made in 1838, by the late Mr. Davis Gilbert^ a 
native and resident of Ckimwall, and sometime president of 
the Boyal Society : — " At the foot of the Mount a small pier 
existed from a time probably anterior to the monastery itself; 
but in the early part of the last century a lease on lives was 

granted to Mr. George Blewett This gentieman rebuilt 

the pier on a very enlarged scale, and concentrated here 
almost the whole commerce of Penwith hundred, which has 
since his time gone to Penzance and Hayla*'* 

3rd. The Mount is by no means a solitary rock of its kind. 
Within seventy miles east of it, there are certainly four that 
actually are, or probably were within the last 1,900 years, 
precisely similar islands — Looe Island, St. Nicholas' Island, 
the Mewstone, and Borough Island. 

Looe, or St. George's, Island is about ten miles west of the 
Bame Head, one mUe south of Looe harbour, and about one 
third of a mile from the main land on the west. At the low 
water of equinoctial spring-tides— but never else — the inter- 
space is left dry for a period just long enough for an active 
person to walk across to the island and back agaia Mr. S. 
^logg, surgeon at Looe, informs me that on one occasion he 
was able to walk across, go to the top of the island, and 
return, but that this is unusual. The island is about a mile 
in circumference, and its summit is 170 feet above mean tida 

A brief description of St. Nicholas' Island has already 
been given. 

The Mewstone is about five furlongs due south of the 
eastern horn of Plymouth Sound, and is the smallest of the 
four islands just named. "Between it and the mainland 

* "The Parochial History of Cornwall, founded on the Manuscript 
Histories of Mr. HaU and Mr. Tonkin ; with Additions and various Appen- 
dixes, by Davis Gilbert," vol. iL, page 214, 183a 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 149 

ttiere is a ridge of rocks, amongst which there are several 
deep holes, but a boat drawing six feet of water would have 
a difficulty in finding a channel there,"* 

Borough Island is situated at the western side of the river 
Avon, a little east of the centre of Bigbury Bay, in South 
Devon, and is scarcely a quarter of a mile distant from the 
mainland. lake the Mount, it is an island at every high 
water, and a peninsula at every low water, when it is con- 
nected with the main by a narrow sandy isthmus, sufficiently 
firm for carts to traverse it. At spring-tide high-water this 
causeway has nine feet of water on it The island has an 
area of about fourteen acres, or double that of the Mountt 

4th. In the Confessor's Charter the Mount is stated to be 
^juxid mare,'' This has usually, but not invariably, been 
translated ''iuont the sea;" but it would, perhaps, be more cor- 
rectly rendered next or, as Dr. Barham has observed, bt/ the 
sea, when, in either case, it would be a correct description of 
the present position of the spot. 

5th. In Domesday Book (1086) "the land of St. Michael/' 
in "Cornvalge," is stated at "two hides" — supposed to be 
not less than 240 acres. At present the Mount measures 
about seven acres only, and it could have been but very little, 
if at all, larger in William of Worcester's time — four cen- 
turies ago. There are, however, at least four St. Michaels in 
Cornwall: St Michaers Mount, St Michael Penkivel, St 
Michael Caerhayes, and the ex-parliamentary borough of St 
Michael, commonly called Mitchell It has been dssunusd 
rather than proved that the St Michael of the Survey is the 
Mount But waiving this point, it is not the acreage of the 
immediate vicinage, but of the property of the church, 
wherever situated, which is described. 

6th. It is frequently asserted that Florence of Worcester, 
who died in 1118,§ mentioned the Mount under an old 
British name, which signifies that the spot itself was for- 
merly in a wood. This is incorrect^ as Florence does not 
once allude to the Mount. The error, no doubt, arose from 
confounding Florence, with William, of Worcester, who lived 
fiilly 350 years later. This alleged British name assumes so 
many forms, and there is so much uncertainty about its exact 

* Private information, from Gapt W. Walker, R.K. 

t Private information, from the Rev. P. J. Ilbert, of Thorleston. 

t Mr. N. Whitley, of Tmro, kindly infonns me that beeides these 
there is Michaelstow, near Gamelford ; and that the churcheB of Helston 
and Lesnewth are dedicated to St Michael. 

§ See Mr. Foreeter's PrefiEuse to the ^VChronide of Florence of Wor- 
cester,^ page 6. (Bohn's edition.) 



150 



THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 



import, as to render it utterly improbable that it baa aaj 
value as evidence. The following are different forma of botli 
the name and its translation : — 



Authon. DatM. 



AU^;«d BritiBh Naam. 



TnuukitiMU.* 



Norden 
Camden 

Carew 

Boson 

Hals 

Tonkin 

Scawen 

Borlaae 

Polwhele (i) 

Maton (k) 

Brayley & \ 

Bntton m f 

Barham (m) 



1584 
1586 

1602 

1716 
1736 
1739 

1758 
1793 
1794 
1809 
1825 



Careg Cowse . 
Careff Cowte 

( Gaia Goua in Clowze \ 
[ Cara-Clowse in Cowse / 
(barrack gloB en Kuz 
Carra clo gris en an coos 
Careg liuse in Coos . 
Cam Coose and Clowse . 
Carreg Liiz en Kuz 

Earak-luz-en-Kug . 

Careg luz in leuz . 

Carak ludgh en ICkc . 

Kariff luz en kuz 



The grey rock 
Mupit emnu 

The hoary rock in the wood 

Ghrav rock in the wood 
Rock-do-grey in the wood 

The rock hid in the wood 
A hoary rock in a wood 
( The grey or hoary rook 
( in the wood 
The hoary rock in the wood 
i The grey or hoary rock 
\ in Uie wood 
Hoary rock in the wood 



(a) ^Topographical and Historioal Description of OomwalL*' The 
Editor of the edition in 1738 says, " 'Tis probable this snrref of Gone 
wall was taken m 1584.*' 

E'' Britannia." The first edition was published in 1686. 
"Survey of Cornwall" 
Jour. Koy. Inst, of Cornwall, Na v., p. 14 The date of Mr. 
Boson's MS. cannot be determined^ bat Mr. W. C. Boriaae of OuUe 
Homeck, Penzanoe, kindly informs me that '' we may, withoat being fiir 
wrong, fix it about 1716." 

(e) " Gilbert's Parochial History of Oomwall,''*voL iL, p. 172. 

If) Quoted by 0. S. Gilbert, in " An Historical Surrey of the Oonnty 
ofComwalL" 

(a) MS. " Antiquities of Cornwall, p. 106, quoted by Pryoe in his MS. 
" History of St. Michaers Mount," which is quoted by Polwhele in his 
'* HistoiT of Cornwall," p. 125. Date undetermined. 

(h) " Observations on the Ancient and Present State of the Islands of 
ScUly." 

(0 ** Historical Views of Devonshire." vol L, sec. 8, p. 118. 

\k) " Observations on the Western Counties." 

{l) "Beauties of England and Wales." 

(m) Trans. Roy. Geol. Soc. of Oomwidl, vol iii., p. 86. 

Accepting the prevalent translation — "the grey or hoary 
rock in the wood" — three different explanations have been 
suggested respecting the name: First, that the name was 
given by a people who spoke British, and who were con- 
temporaries of the wood which surrounded the Mount 
There is no doubt that man existed in South-Western Eng- 
land when the forests, now submerged, were sub-aerial, and 

* In each case the translation is that of the author fhwa whom the 
name is quoted. 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 161 

within one of which the Mount must have stood ; his tools 
have been found in these forests,* and also in the more 
ancient cavern deposits; but to suppose the name to be 
older than the subsidence, is to suppose the British language 
coeval with the mammoth, whose remains have been found in 
the forests, but not in the lake-dwellings of Switzerland, or 
the kitchen-middens of Denmark ; and which, so far as is at 
present known, was extinct before the age of bronze ;t — an 
antiquity so great as to render it eminently improbable that 
any philologer could now give a trustworthy translation of a 
language then spoken in this country, even though it may be 
admitted that " the Welsh (kindred to the old Cornish) in its 
present state is one of the oldest languages in Europe ; and 
that it is in fact among spoken languages the most ancient of 
which any written monuments are preserved, unless we regard 
the Romaic as to a certain degree identical with the ancient 
Greek."! 

The second suggestion is that the name was not contem- 
porary with the submerged woods, but was given, whilst the 
British language was spoken, in consequence of trees which 
grew on the Mount itself in its present condition ; or because 
the Marazion plain and adjacent low lands were fonnerly well 
wooded, when the Mounts seen from the sea, or from the 
opposite side of the bay, would appear to be in a wood. It 
has also been suggested that the " hoar rock" was originally 
not the Mount itself, but a wood-surrounded rocky cairn on it, 
and that the name first given to a part was ultimately applied 
to the whole. There are several objections to these guesses : 
The Mount in its present condition could never have borne 
trees in sufficient numbers to have received the appellation of 
a wood, especially from a people so well acquainted with 
extensive woods as the ancient British were. The epithet 
"grey" or "hoar" is admirably applicable to the whole islet, 
and not to a portion of it merely. So far as is known, the 
idea of loss of area is older than the supposed British name. 
There does not appear to be any evidence that the latter is 

• "Trans. Dev. Assoc.," 1865, pages 36-8. 

t " The fauna, not only of the bronze age, but of the oldest lake- 
dwellers of Switzerland, to whom the use of metak was unknown, was 
identical with that of the historical era, no mixture of the bones of the 
Mammoth or of Bot longifrfmiy or even of the rein-deer having been 
detected, whether among ^e wild or domestic animals of the lacustrine 
habitations of Switzerland or in the kitchen middens of Denmark." 
(Lyell's "Principles," tenth edition, vol. L, page 664, 1866.) 

t See Penny Cydop. Art " Welsh Language and Literature," voL xxviL, 
page 214. 



152 THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

mentioned earlier than towards the end of the sixteenth 
century; whilst William of Worcester, fully a century before, 
when speaking of the Mount, terms it ** Monte Tumba antea 
Yocata k Hare rok in the ivodd ; *"* dropping the Latin which 
he elsewhere uses, to give the Englisk, not the BriiiA name, 
of which he makes no mention. That he understood the name 
to imply a loss of area, is evident from his subsequent state* 
ment that the Mount was *' originally inclosed with a very 
thick wood, distant from the ocean six miles, afiFording the 
finest shelter for wild beasts/'f It is obvious that this descrip* 
tion could have been applicable only in times anterior, not 
merely to the fifteenth, but to the eleventh centuiy; for, 
whatever may be the exact import of the phrase, the Mount 
was *'juxta mare" in 1044. The era of the topography which 
William described, but of which he recorded no evidence, was 
separated from his day by an interval of time wider than that 
which divides him from us. Leland, also (1538 to 1540), says, 
" Ther hath been much land devourid betwixt Pensandea and 

MovsehaU. Ther is an old Legend a Tounlet in this Part 

(now defaced and) lying under the Water."t He subsequently 
states that " In the Bay betwyxt the Mont and Pemants be 
found neere the lowe Water Marke Bootes of Trees jm dyvers 
Places, as a token of the Grounde wasted ;''§ and thus fur^ 
nishes the earliest known mention of the submerged forest, as 
well as of evidence of loss of area. Oarew (1602), having 
stated that the Mount is termed by the Comishmen "Cara 
Couz in Clowze, that is, the hoar Bock in the Wood," adds in 
a nute, "Tradition tells us thjtt in former ages the Mount was 
part of the insular continent in Britain, and disjoined from 
it by an inundation or encroachment of the sea, some earth- 
quake or terrestrial concussion. To prove this opinion, the 
country people tell us that oak trees have been found under 
the sand." II 

The third explanation of the alleged British name is sug- 
gested by a consideration of the foregoing statements. There 
is first a tradition of a loss of area, which could not have 
occurred within five centuries prior to the earliest known 
mention of it by William of Worcester, who gives an old 
English name in accordance with it, but makes no mention 

• "Itinemria." t Ibid. 

X " The Itinerary of John Leland the Antiquary,'* vol. iiL page 17, 3rd 
edition. Oxford, 1768. 

§ Ibid, vol. viL, page 118. 
. II "Survey of Cornwall," pages 376-8. At page 6, Garew gives the 
British name of the Mount as " Cara-Clowse in Cowse." 



IN THE BODTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 153 

et allusion to a corresponding British nania Sixty years 
later, the tradition is repeated by Leland, who calls it '* an old 
legend," and adds, as '*a token" of its truth, that there is a 
Bttbmeiged forest in Mount's Bay. Fully forty years after 
thifly the British name first appears in Norden and Gamden» 
who say it was " Careg Cowse," or " the grey rock," but make 
no mention of ''a wood." The latter thus speaks of the 
tradition of loss of area : — " The people hereabout assert the 
ground covered by the sea was caUed, from I know not what 
fable, Lioness."* Nearly twenty years later, Carew mentions 
the same tradition, as well as the remains of trees under the 
sand ; he also speaks of possible causes of the encroachment, 
but in such terms as to show that tfie cause was unknown, 
and that the fact was unrecorded ; and to the British name, 
mentioned by Norden and Camden, he adds, or finds added, 
such words as it is supposed will make it agree with the 
tradition and with the English name spoken of by William 
of Worcester, upwards of one hundred and twenty years 
befora The success in manufacturing a name from a Ian* 
guage then hastening to extinction is not very marked ; for 
Carew gives the name in two different forms ; and it is said 
that neither form will bear the translation he puts upon it. 
Most of the names given by authors since Carew's time 
appear to be intended, not as historical or even traditional 
statements, but as scholarly emendations, made on the as* 
sumptions that there was a name and that it ought to signify 
**the hoar rock in the wood."t The history of the name is 
probably this : — At low tide the remains of a forest were seen 
in the strand, in a condition which proved the trees were in 
situ, and that at some time there had been a subsidence. To 
the mind's eye the area was re-elevated, the Mount became 
surrounded with trees =" le Hore rok in the wodd "=" Carreg 
Luz en Kuz." 

Were it necessary to show that names as frequently contain 
mere opinions or guesses as they do facts, Cornwall could 
readily supply the materials. As examples, I may mention 
the upright stones, remnants of three lai^ intersecting circles, 
from four to five miles north of Liskes^ in East Cornwall. 
They are named " the Hurlers," in accordance with a legend 
that they were once men, who, playing at the game of hurling 
on a Sunday, were, for their impiety, transformed into stone. 

* •* Britannia,*' page 3, 1686. 

t See " Observations on the Tin Trade of the Ancienta in Cornwall, 
and on the * Ictis * of Diodoms Sicolus,*' by Sir C. Hawkins, Bart., f.a.8., 
London^ 1817. 



154 THB AKTIQUITY OF MAN 

Again, a few miles south-west of Pexusance there is a mona-» 
ment which once consisted of 19 stones, 16 of which are 
still upright This is known as Dawn's MAi,=^the SUme^ 
Dance, or Dancing Stones; and popularly as the Mmry 
Maidens. The name is derived from a l^nd that these 
stones were once young women, who were petrified fc»: dancing 
on Sunday. In harmony with the legend, two large upright 
stones, about a furlong apart, are known as the Pipers, fi^m 
being in the vicinity of the stone circla 

In these examples, it is obvious that the names were given 
after the introduction of Christianity, to relics of a religion 
which had been, not only supplanted, but utterly forgotten. 
The stones were phenomena to be accounted for, and, in order 
to this, a demand was made on the imagination much greater 
than that made in the " third explanation ** of the so-called 
British name of St. MichaeVs Mount. 

It is unnecessary to remark that the bestowal of names 
harmonizing vdth legends is by no means peculiar to Com- 
walL Have we not St Hilda's snakes, St Cuthbert's beads^ 
the Bemide goose, and a multitude of other examples? 

7. To his other statements, William of Worcester adds^ 
but gives no evidence, that " there were 140 parish churches 
submerged between the Mount and SeiUy." Were this 
assertion accepted, it would follow that after Cornwall was 
Christianized (not earlier than the fifth century) and divided 
into parishes, but prior to the Confessor's charter, there had 
been lost 140 parishes, having, according to the existing 
average acreage in the hundred of Penwith, ix\ which the 
Mount is situated, an aggregate area of 830 square miles,* or 
twice that required to fill the space between the Cornish 
coast and a line joining the Lizard with Scilly; a loss so 
enormous and so rapid as to render it impossible to believe 
that the monkish chroniclers, laboriously minute as they 
were, especially in all things appertaining to the Church, 
would have omitted to record it, more especially as it must 
have happened within or near their own times. 

The tradition of loss of ai*ea is thus mentioned by Harri- 
son : " It doth app^ere yet by good record, that whereas now 
there is a great distance betweene the SyUan lies and point 
of the Lands End, there was of late yeares to speke of 
scarslie a brooke or drain of one fadam water betwtene them, 
if so much, as by these euidences appeereth and are yet to 
be s^ene in the hands of the lord and chiefe owner of those 

* The average acreage of the Penwith parishes appears to be 3790 
acres. 



IN THS 80T7TH-WE8T OF ENGLAND. 155 

nea."** It is somewhat tantalizing to be told that the 
evidences were yet to be seen, without being also told what 
was their character, or whether the author Mmself had seen 
them. 

8. Carew states, in proof of the great subsidence between 
the Land's End and Scilly, that this space carrieth continually 
an eqval depth of forty or sixty fathoms (a thing not usual 
in the sea's proper dominions)/' and that "fishermen also 
casting their hooks thereabouts, have drawn up pieces of 
doors and windows."! It is not easy to see the force of the 
first statement; moreover, it exceeds the trath, the depth 
being from thirty to forty fathoms. It would be awkward, 
however, to accept this proof, as it would prove also that 
prior to the subsidence there could have been no English 
Channel, which, excepting at its western end, rarely attains a 
depth of 30 fathoms at present. The second statement is 
even surpassed by one in Hooker, who says, "in a fifair 
summer and sun-shining day, the 8ea-fa}rring men doe see 
and disceme sundry monuments of churches and houses 
vnder and in the water."! These wonderful assertions could 
only be entertained by those who had never rcflected on the 
power of the Atlantic waves. 

9. There is said to be "a tradition that at the time of the 
inundation Trevillian swam from the submerged district," 
and in memory thereof bears, Gules, an Horse argent, issuing 
out of the sea proper. The V)rvyans (Xujrvyan in Cornish is 
to flee away, or escape, whence they derive their name), 

pretend to the same, and that one of their ancestors 

was governor of that tract : in memory whereof they an- 
ciently bore, argent a lion rampant, gules, standing on the 
waves of the sea, proper (which waves have been of late left 
out), and still give for their crest, an Horse, argent, on which 
they tell you the Governor saved himself: alluding both to 
the name of the place and to the means of his preservation."§ 
These legends are also cited in proof of the subsidence. The 
herald's office is a somewhat novel court for the settlement of 
a question in physical scienca 

Of those who believe in the comparatively recent insu- 
lation of the Mount, a few, including Mr. Whitaker, ascribe 

* ''An Historical Description of the Island of Britaine, by W. 
Harrison^ prefixed to Holisshed's Ghionides," 1586, toL L, Third Booke, 
chap. X., page 397. 

t " Survey of Cornwall," Mge a 

t Quoted in Polwhele's "Devonshire," toL L, p. 178, 

§ Garew's Survey, pages 6-7. 



156 THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

it to encroaGhments of the sea without change of level ; bat 
the great majority contend for a general subsidence. Indeed, 
Dr. Borlase (1756) believed himself to have detected in the 
Scilly Isles distinct marks of change of level "Buina and 
hedges,*' he says, "are frequently seen upon the shifting of 
the sands in the friths between the islands, and the low Iwds 
which were formerly cultivated .... have now ten feet of 

water above the foundations of their hedges There 

are sevevel pfiefiamena of the same nature to be seen on these 
shores ; as particularly a straight-lined ridge, like a causeway, 
running across the Old Town Creek in St. Mabt'8» which is 
now never seen above water. On the Isle of Annet, there 
are large stones now covered by every full tide, which have 
Rock-hasona cut into their surface, and which therefore must 
have been placed in a much higher situation when those 
basons .... were worked into them."* From these alleged 
fiEicts, the learned author concluded there had been a subsi- 
dence to the amount of, at least, 16 feet 

The mention of rock-basins being but little calculated to 
inspire confidence, I wrote Mr. Augustus Smith, the present 
proprietor of Scilly, calling his attention to Dr. Borlase*s 
statements, and requesting information respecting them. In 
reply, Mr. Smith was so good as to authorize me to state that, 
during the thirty years of his residence there, no such evi- 
dences of subsidence have been seen as were mentioned by 
Dr. Borlase. Now, as we shall hereafter see, the learned 
doctor believed that these phenomena had outlived their, 
submergence by fully 900 years ; hence it migl\^ have been 
expected that they would have endured for three quarters of 
a century more. 

The advocates of recent subsidence, as may be expected, 
are divided respecting the time of its occurrence. Dr. Borlase 
concludes that it took place after the Augustan age, but adds, 
"at what time after I can find nothing as yet that can 
determina" Considerable inundations are mentioned by the 
Chroniclers in the year 1014, and 1099, but these dates he 
rejects for the satisfactory reason that the monks having been 
placed in Scilly by Athelstan in the year 938, or soon after, 
"nothing of the kind could have happened but it would have 
appeared somewhere or other in the papers or history of 
Tavistock Abbey," to which the monks of Scilly were united. 
He therefore selects the year 830, when, in the end of March, 
according to an old Irish MS., the sea, on the west coast of 
the county of Cork, broke through its banks in a violent 
* " Observatioos on the Scilly Isles." 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 157 

manner, and overflowed a considerable tract of land. "I 
should think," says Dr. Borlase, " it most suitable to history, 
that this was what reduced, divided, and destroyed the Scilly 
Islands, and overran the lands in Mount's Bay." 

It is scarcely necessary to call attention to the fact that 
this conclusion rests on the following gratuitous assumptions: 
1st. That this was a subsidence, and not an unusually high 
tide. 2nd. That it extended beyond the district specified — 
the west of Cork. 3rd. That the monkish Chroniclers would 
be less likely, than in the case of the Scilly Monastery, to 
record such a catastrophe as the severance of the Mount 
from the main land — the holy spot which the Archangel 
Michael was believed to have visited 120 years before, and to 
which, in still earlier times, the miracle-working St. Keyna 
and St Cadoc had gone on pilgrimage. 

The inundation of 1014 is recorded by the Saxon Chronicler, 
Florence of Worcester, and William of Malmesbury. The 
first states that "in this year, on the eve of St. Michael's 
Mass, came the great sea flood wide throughout this laud, 
and ran so far up as it never before had done, and washed 
away many towns, and a countless number of people."* 
According to Florence, the sea broke its bounds on the third 
oithe calends of October (3rd Septembert), and overwhelmed 
many vills and great numbers of people in England." J 
Malmesbury records, but without mentioning the day or 
month, that "the sea flood, which the Greeks call Euripus, 
^and we Ledo, rose to so wonderful a height, that none like it 
was recollected in the memory of man, for it overflowed the 
villages, and destroyed their inhabitants for many miles."§ 
The same authors mention the inundation of 1099. The 
** Chronicler" says, " This year also, on St. Martin's day, there 
was so very high a tide, and the damage was so great in con- 
sequence, that men remembered not the like to have ever 
happened before, and the same day was the first of the new 
moon. II Florence states that on the third of the nones (the 
3rd) of November, the sea overflowed the shore, destroying 
towns, and drowning many persons and innumerable oxen 
and sheep." H He appears to have regarded this as a sign of 

• Bohn's edition, page 405. 

t This should have been September 29tb. The date in the text is 
perhaps a misprint. The calend of October is the first day of that month, 
the 2nd of the calends is the day preceding, and so on, the reckoning 
being backward. (See "Chronology of History," by Sir H. Nicholas, 

X Bohn's edition, page 124. § Ibid, page 191. 

II Ibid, page 476. 4 Ibid, page 206. 



158 THX AKTIQmTY OF ICAN 

Divine displeasure, for he subsequently remarks, "During the 
reign of this king (fiufns), as we have partly mentioned above, 
many signs appeared in the sun, moon, and stars; the sea 
oiten overflowed its banks, drowning* men and cattle, and 
destroying many vills and houses ; in the district of Berk- 
shire, blood flowed from a fountain for three weeks ; and the 
devil frequently appeared in the woods under a horrible form 
to many Normans, and discoursed laigely to them respecting 
the king."* Malmesbury states that *' in his (William II.) 
twelfth year (1099) an excessive tide flowed up the Thames 
and overwhelmed many villages i^dth their inhabitant8."t He 
and also the " Chronicler" mention the flowing of blood firom 
a fountain in Berkshire, and the former adds that " the most 
dreadful circumstance was that the devil visibly appeared to 
men in woods and secret places, and spoke to them as they 
passed." The following olwervations may not be out of place 
respecting the foregoing statements : — 

1st That they are but echoes and must not be regarded as 
the primary utterances of three distinct observers. Neither 
Florence nor William was bom in 1014, and the latter, not 
until 1095. 

2nd. That there are indications of credulity and colouring 
so marked as to render it necessary to exercise caution in 
the reception and evaluation of the statements. 

3rd. That there are chronological discrepancies in the 
statements, for whilst the Saxon Chronicle gives St Martin's 
day as the date of the inundation of 1099, according to* 
Florence of Worcester it occurred on the third of the nones 
of November. Of the numerous St. Martin's days in the 
Calendar, one falls on the llth and another on the 12th of 
November ; but as the first of the nones of November fidls 
on the 5th of that month, and as the reckoning is backward, 
the third of the nones was the 3rd of the month — a dis- 
crepancy of at least eight days. 

4th. That of the two, the inundation of 1014 appears to 
have been the more destructive. 

5th. That the first occurred at the autumnal equinox, and 
is recognized as a phenomenon so well-known as to have 
received names in two distinct languages — "Euripus" and 
"Ledo." 

6th. That the second, though not at the equinox, is dis- 
tinctly stated by one to have been a " very high tide^' on the 
day of new moon; and by another to have been an excessive 
tide which flowed up the Thames 

* Bohn's edition, page 207. f Ibid, page 343. 



IN THE 80UTH-WKST OF ENGLAND. 159 

Notwithstanding the distinct statement of both the Saxon 
Chronicler and William of Malmesbury on the point, it has 
been observed that the inundation of 1099 could not have 
been due to a high ^ide, as it occurred sometime after the 
equinox, and that it was on the day of new moon, that is 
before the highest tide of the spring • It is, of course, true 
that, in fine weather, the highest tides are at the equinoxes, 
and that, in Britain, the highest tide of every spring is, 
in fine weather, the third or fifth after the new or full 
moon ; but, to say nothing of the great tidal influence of the 
moon when in perigee, a tempest is very capable of greatly 
deranging this. Indeed, so frequently have violent tempests, 
usually accompanied by high tides, occurred in October or 
November, that they are almost regarded as periodical phe- 
nomena.! 

Amongst the high and destructive tides which during the 
present century have visited the southern coasts of England, 
three stand out very prominently — those of January 19th, 
1817; November 28rd, 1824; and October 26th, 1859. They 
were each at a considerable distance from either equinox, 
and the last, like that in 1099, was on the first day of new 
moon. 

But waiving this point, it must be admitted that the state- 
ments of the Chroniclers form a very slender basis on which 
to rear such an opinion as that there was, in the eleventh 
century, a general subsidence which converted the Iktis of 
.Diodorus into the Isle of Wight, the Black Eock, the Wolf 
Eock, or one of the Scilly Isles ; especially in the face of the 
facts that, among its results, the sacred St. Michael's Mount 
must have been severed from the mainland, and that pre- 
viously, at least on most of the hypotheses, there could have 
been no English Channel The first would have been un- 
doubtedly recorded ; and the second would have rendered it 
easier for Caesar to have marched, than to have sailed, to 
England. 

It does not fall within the scope of this paper to enter on 
the discussion of such questions as, "Did the Phoenicians 
ever carry on trade with Cornwall by way of the Straits of 
Gibraltar?" "Where were the Cassiterides ?" "Was tin 
ever wrought in Scilly ?" or, " Was the tin taken from Corn- 
wall to the continent directly, or coastwise to the Isle of 
Wight or some other near point?" With reference to the 

• " Artizan*' for April, 1867, page 80. 

t See Sir J. Herschers "Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects," 
page 143. 1867. 



160 . THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

last, however, it may be remarked, in passing, that the block 
of tin previously mentioned appears to suggest that during 
one period of the trade, the route was, at least, occasionally 
coastwise. 

In conclusion, and by way of recapitulation : St. Michael's 
Mount has certainly undeigone no appreciable change during 
the last four centuries, and there is no evidence that it has 
done so since the Christian era; — those whose habit and 
interest it was to record such an event are silent on the 
question, whilst the relative level of sea and land, tacitly 
supposed by early historians, harmonizes with that which at 
present exists ; — the Mount aflfords the requisite shelter, and 
is abundantly large enough for the storage and shipment of 
the early Cornish tin, and for the traffic consequent thereon; — 
it possesses all the characters, and occupies the position of 
the Iktis of Diodorus, and no other existing island has any 
claim to this distinction; — since the era of that tmnquil, 
uniform, and general subsidence, which resulted in the sub- 
mergence of the forests whose remains are found on the 
strands of all the British seas and channels, thick accumula- 
tions have been lodged in the valleys on the forest ground, 
and broad foreshores have been formed by the retreat of the 
cliffs before the waves, yet, at least, nineteen centuries have 
failed to produce an appreciable change in the character of 
the Mount, or its relation to the mainland; — prior to this 
subsidence was the period of the forest growth, when the 
Mount was unquestionably a "hoar rock in a wood," but 
which, in all probability, it had ceased to be very long before 
any language now known to philologers was spoken in the 
district ; — before this again was the period of the deposition 
of the blue clay and of the "tin-ground," in which the forests 
grew ; — earlier still was the epoch of the excavation or re- 
excavation of the valleys in whose bounding hills are the 
caverns of South Devon ; — and in a still more remote anti- 
quity, when the bottoms of the valleys were at least 100 
feet above their present levels, persistent streams or fitful 
land -floods carried the characteristic red loam into these 
caverns. 

Great as is the age of these deposits of cave-earth, it does 
not exceed the Antiquity of Man in the South- West of Eng- 
land, and hence, since it is eminently improbable that the 
cradle of the human race was in a climate so ungenial as 
ours, it must fall far short of the Antiquity of Man. 



IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. 161 



APPENDIX. 

Antiquaries, romancists, and poets have succeeded in keeping 
aliye the legends and traditions of St. Michaers Mount, and may 
thus, pertiaps, have done some disservice to Truth. The place 
which this l^endary lore has obtained in Milton's "Ljcidas," 
and in Warton's critique upon it, may be taken as an assurance 
that it is not soon to di& 

I venture to append to this paper the two following sonnets 
from the pen of the latter author. 

LE HORE HOCK IN THE WODD. 
" Yon chasmy crag precipitous, where frown 
Embattled walk, and dark their shadows throw 
Upon the dashing wave that foams below, 
Yon crag, which rough monastic ruins crown, 
In elder days far distent from the flood, 
Gleam'd the hoar rock amid the secret wood. 
There once ('tis said] at evening cbse, appear' d 
An awful vision to a hermit's eyes ; 
While, as a meteor stream'd his silver beard 
To the rude winds, * Be thine (the archangel cries) 
* To bid a fabric to St. Michael rise ; 
High on these pilgrim rocks devote to fame : 
And as it braves &e shafts of angry' skies, 
Shall it the deep regard of ages chum.' " 

FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY AT SAINT MICHAEL'S MOUNT. 
" Opt at the solitary rock, whose brow 
Half hid for man^ an age by hoary oak 
Thro' the romantic umbrage wildly broke, 
The pilgrim had effused his pious vow.^ 
There Keyna once, a princess and a saint, 
(For such the virgin monkish legends paint) 
Breath' d the pure essence of her soul m prayer : 
But, rushing on the solemn wood's repose, 
As the great Vision beckoned, high in air 
The fane, the towers, the vaulted chambers rose ! 
Thence holy orisons, that wont to hail 
The dawn, or choral hymns at eventide. 
Soft o'er the still wave sooth'd the distant sail. 
As to the seaman's ear the melting murmurs died." 



VOL. II. 



ON SOME MAMMALIAN BONES AND TEETH, 

FOUND IN THE SUBMERGED FOREST AT NOBTHAH. 

BT H. 8. ELLIS, F.B.A.8. 
Oommunioated by Towmihbxo M. Hall, p.o.b., etc. 



I HAVE been requested by Mr. Ellis to exhibit some bones 
and teeth of mammalia recently fonnd by him in the sub- 
merged forest at Northam, near Bideford. They occur in 
the peat, associated with flint flakes, flint cores, and large 
quantities of comminuted shells, principally those of the 
oyster, Ostrcea edtUis, and cockle, Cordium edule. These shells 
are found in beds somewhat resembling the shell deposits of 
Denmark, and have hitherto been observed in only those 
portions of the peat bed which are exposed either at or near 
low water mark. In the early part of January last, the sand 
which had hitherto always covered the lower part of the sub- 
merged forest was swept away, and I then first noticed this 
deposit of oyster shells, which, in some places, attained a 
thickness of two feet. Mixed up with the shells were large 
numbers of bones, but they were so much decomposed as to 
render it almost impossible to determine their original shape. 
One bone,* better preserved than the rest, is precisely 
similar in form to one of those found recently by Mr. Ellis, 
and which is now exhibited. Mr. Ellis has also been suc- 
cessful in discovering an immense quantity of other bones, 
all of which do not appear to have entirely lost their animal 
matter. Mr. W. Horton Ellis, of Exeter, has also found 
bones in the same situation, and, at my suggestion, he sub- 
mitted them to Professor Huxley, who has determined them 
to have belonged to some large ruminant, probably a species 
of deer. In connection with: his subject, I may mention 
that at Braunton (which is situated just on the northern edge 
of the alluvial delta of the Taw) there is a tradition that the 

♦ The astragalus of a deer (?) 



OK SOME BfAMMALIAK BONES AND TEETH. 163 

oak trees used for the roof and seats of the Church grew in a 
forest which formerly occupied the site of the Burrows, and 
that the trees, when felled, were drawn to the churchyard by 
reindeer. Local traditions have generally a certain amount 
of truth at their foundation, and when we remember that one 
species of deer still exists in its wild state amongst the 
forests at Exmoor, it is more than probable that other species 
of the same animal may have formerly occupied this part of 
our county. 



M 2 



ON 

THE DEPOSITS OCCIIPYING THE VALLEY BETWEEN THE 
BEADDONS AND WALDON HILLS, TOBQUAT. 

BT W. PENOELLT, F.B.S., F.e.8., ETC. 



The investigations in connection with the great problem of 
human antiquity, which, at intervals during upwards of forty 
years, have been carried on in South Devon, have given so 
much importance to everything relating to the valleys of the 
district, that I have been induced to lay before the Associar 
tion the following brief and, I fear, very unimportant com- 
munication respecting the deposits which occupy the bottom 
of the principtd valley of Torquay — that which Ues between 
the Braddons on the east, and Waldon Hill on the west, and 
terminates at the harbour. 

Before entering on a description of the deposits, however, 
it seems desirable to notice, very briefly, the succession of 
valleys, or, rather, the entire valley of which that just 
mentioned is the termination. It commences a littie north- 
ward of a line drawn from Barton Cross to Watcombe, about 
three miles northwards from Torquay harbour, when mea- 
sured in a straight line. In its uppermost part it is a 
sharply-defined basin-shaped dell, bounded on the north and 
east by the Triassic red conglomerate, on the south and west 
by Devonian slates and limestones, and having the Barton 
outlier of limestones rising, like a rugged island, abruptly 
from its centre. From the north-western extremity of St. 
Mary-Church Hill to Torquay harbour it is simply a deep 
narrow gorge, everywhere bounded by abrupt cliffs of lime- 
stone or slate, the former being by far the more prevalent 
Several small valleys, some of them traversing slates and 
grits, enter it on each side ; but the streams which flow into 
and through it are confined to districts composed of Devonian 
and Triassic rock^ only, — none of them can bring into it any 
debris derived from more modern formations. From Barton 
to Tor its course is south-westerly, thence to the harbour it 
is south-south-east. 



DEPOSITS BETWEEN THE BRADDONS AND WALDON HILLS. 165 

That part of the valley to which I propose directing 
attention is the site of the lofty buildings recently erected 
about 300 yards from the harbour. The limestone strata dip 
to the same amount and in the same direction in eax^h of the 
opposing hills. There is no reason to suppose that the valley 
occupies either a synclinal or an anticlinal axis, nor are there 
any indications that it coincides with a line of fault. All its 
features are those of a valley of erosion, excavated probably 
in the direction of the jointage of the rocks of the district 

The houses which have been recently removed, in order to 
the erection of the new buildings, were amongst the oldest 
in the town ; hence it may be concluded that there has been 
no very modem additions to the natural deposits there. The 
locality has long been known as "The Meadow/' a name 
which recognizes the alluvial character of the ground, and 
which, though perhaps scarcely high-sounding enough for 
modem requirements, it is hoped the authorities wiU preserve. 
The volume of the small stream which flows through the 
valley may be inferred from the fact that, when carefully 
stored, it was just suflBcient to work a small com mill, which 
a few years ago stood on the site of the present Union Hall, 
about 200 yards higher up the valley. With the exception 
of a diminutive, though relatively a somewhat important, 
feeder from Ellacombe, about three furlongs from the harbour, 
this stream may still be seen immediately east of Upton 
Church, about 1,080 yards from the. harbour. Below this 
point the authorities have given it a subterranean course. 

At the spot already specified, the surface of the gardens in 
front of the old houses was, according to the Ordnance maps, 
about 20 feet above mean tide at Liverpool ; so that, taking 
the latter to be the same level as mean tide in Torbay, and 
to be midway between high and low water, it was about 
eleven feet above the level of spring-tide high-water. 

The recent extensive excavations, preparatory to the erec- 
tion of the new buildings, have shown that, in descending 
order, the deposits are : — 

Ist. Dark garden mould; about two feet In this mass 
were found a large number of bones, many of which have 
been cut with a keen instrument. They are probably all 
quite modem. 

2nd. Bed clay, very tenacious and containing but little 
stony matter ; about five feet. This clay closely resembles 
the staple of the ossiferous deposits found in the caverns of 
the district, and known as Cave-earth. Similar clay covers 
considerable areas in the neighbourhood, and sometimes to 



166 THE DEPOSITS OCCUPYING THE VALLEY 

the depth of several feet It is frequently used for brick- 
making, for which it is well adapted. At the brick-field at 
Hele Cross, in the adjoining parish of St. Mary Church, it is 
from ten to twelve feet deep. 

3rd. Similar, but somewhat coarser, red clay, mixed with 
angular masses of limestone ; about three feet. 

4th. An accumulation of coarse sand, angular blocks of 
limestone, and pebbles of quartz, slate, red grit, flint and 
limestone; upwards of nine feet. In sinking a well, this 
accumidation was excavated to the depth just mentioned, but 
the bottom of it was not reached ; a few yards higher up the 
valley, a second such excavation disclosed the unbroken 
limestone bottom of the valley at a depth a little below the 
nine feet level In some places, especially towards the lower 
part of this mass, fragments of carbonate of lime of stalac- 
titic aspect are somewhat numerous. Many of the lime- 
stone pebbles have been perforated by marine creatures ; and 
throughout the bed, shells of the oyster, Ostrea edtUis; pecten, 
Pecten maximus; mussel, MytUus edulis; cockle, Cardiwm, 
ediUe; limpet, Patella vulgaris; and periwinkle, LUtorina 
littorea; are abundant. They are well preserved and have 
a modem aspect. 

From the forgoing facts, it is obvious : — 

1st. That the valley had not only been excavated, but the 
deposits had been lodged in it before the erection of the 
houses recently removed. 

2nd. That the fourth or pebble bed is of marine origin. 
For were it supposed that the shells were taken there by 
man, it would stiU be necessary to account for the presence 
of the perforated pebbles, and also for the fact that shells do 
not occur in either of the overl3dng beds. 

3rd. That the top of the fourth bed is no more than one 
foot above the level of spring-tide high-water, and would 
therefore be within the reach of ordinary waves, if the over- 
lying materials were removed. Hence it is not necessary to 
suppose that any change of the relative level of sea and land 
has taken place since the bed was laid down. In other 
words, this bed may be regarded as being more modem than 
the Raised beaches and Submerged forests on the adjacent 
coasts — a conclusion in harmony with the very modem aspect 
of the shells which the bed contains. 

4th. That, with the exception of the flints, the fragments 
of rock — limestone, slate, grit, quartz — found in the fourth 
bed are all derivable from the area which the valley drains. 
Hence, but for the flints, there is no evidencS that any change 



BETWEEN THE BBADDONS AND WALDON HILLS, TORQUAY. 167 

has taken place in the conditions, or the surface-configuration 
of the district generally, since the commencement of the 
deposition of the bed. 

5th. That, at least, that part of the valley which extends 
from Torquay Town-hall to the harbour must have been, 
until very recently, a narrow tidal inlet of Torbay, from 
which the sea has been gradually excluded by detritus 
thrown d^wn by a river of no more than mill-stream dimen- 
sions. 

6th. That, assuming there has been no diminution in the 
rain-fall of the district, the stream can never have averaged 
more than its existing volume, since the watershed of its 
basin is very sharply defined. Hence it may be concluded 
that the second and third beds were very slowly accumulated, 
and that they represent a laige number of years, though 
an extremely inconsiderable period in relation to geological 
time. 

7th. That by adding to this the time which has passed 
away since their deposition was completed, as well as the 
much more important period represented by the fourth or 
marine bed, we have a minimum measure of the interval 
which has elapsed since the last adjustment of the relative 
level of sea and land. 

It has been stated that flints occur in the fourth bed, and 
that no accumulation of flints, whether derivative or primary, 
exists vdthin the area which the valley draina This fact is 
one of a laige class. Flints present themselves in all the 
numerous Eaised beaches both in Devon and Cornwall ; on 
the very extensive shingle beach at Slapton in Start Bay 
they form scarcely less than 75 per cent of the entire accu-* 
mutation ; they are met with in no stinted numbers in the 
Scilly Isles ; and they are by no means rare on the various 
existing beaches in Barnstaple Bay. It must not be forgotten 
that, notwithstanding the laws of the Admiralty to the con- 
trary, sailors frequently throw their ballast overboard, and 
that the presence of rock fragments from distant localities is 
sometimes ascribable to shipwreck. Only small quantities, 
however, can thus be accounted for. The Slapton beach bids 
defiance to any such explanation, and it is obvious that the 
numerous flints in the more ancient accumulations already 
mentioned require some other hypothesis. 

There appear to be but three possible suppositions: — 
1st. That the flints have travelled along the coasts from 
localities known to be capable of supplying them. 2nd. That 
they have been derived from unknown submarine outliers 



168 THE DEPOSITS OCCUPYING THE VALLEY 

containing flints. Or 3rd. That they are the relics of a 
gravel which once was widely spread over, but now is at 
least almost completely removed from, the country. 

These suppositions I propose to consider briefly, and in the 
order given above : — 

1st. It is well known that most existing beaches traveL 
So far as I am aware, the direction of their motion is, on the 
whole, definite and constant; and it is obvious that it depends 
on the trend of the coast and on the direction of the prevalent 
winds. There can be no doubt that on the southern coast of 
Devonshire the conditions concur to make the beaches travel 
eastward; and that were the land, as formerly, at a lower 
level, the conditions would undergo no other change than 
that of being more decided. Accordingly, extensive accu- 
mulations of sand and shingle project across the mouths of 
the Exe, Otter, Sid, and Axe, from their western towsrdB their 
eastern banks; the rivers are themselves jammed against 
their eastern boundaries; the famous quartzite pebbles of 
Budleigh Salterton occur on every beach twenty miles east- 
ward from the bed which jdelds them ; and the celebrated 
Chesil beach, between Portland and the Dorsetshire mainland, 
is said to be composed of materials derived frx^m the west, 
amongst which fragments of Torbay rocks are by no means 
rare. 

Flints are derivable from the basins of the Teign and all 
the Devonshire rivers east of it. There is no known accumu- 
lation in situ further west. Nevertheless, the Otter, which 
reaches the sea at Budleigh Salterton, is the most westerly 
stream which brings them to the coast in any number. If, 
therefore, the flints to be accounted for have travelled along 
the coast from localities known to be capable of supplying 
them, they must have made the journey from Budleigh 
Salterton or some more easterly district. To this, however, 
there are two apparently fatal objections: — the direction, as 
we have seen, is contrary to that of probable transportation ; 
and there are comparatively very few flints on the numerous 
beaches between Budleigh Salterton and Slapton. To attempt 
to meet the latter fact with the hypothesis that they take a 
direct course, and thus avoid the intermediate strands, is to 
suppose them to travel in fifteen fathoms water — a depth far 
beyond the transporting power of any wave that ever visited 
the English Channel. 

2nd. The existence of a submarine outlier containing flints 
is, no doubt, purely hypothetical. Moreover, even if those on 
Slapton beach can be thus accounted for, it may be doubted 



BETWEEN THE BRADDONS AND WALDON HILLS, TORQUAY. 169 

whether such an explaDation would suffice for the specimens 
which occur in the Eaised beaches and at still higher levels. 
Some of these occur at heights upwards of 200 feet above the 
sea, so that it would be necessary to suppose them deposited 
when the level of the land was to that extent lower than at 
present ; that is when the depth of the sea — at present some- 
what too profound for the hypothesis — surpassed that which 
now exists by at least 35 fathoms. No doubt, it is possible 
that at that remote period the supposed outlier may have 
exceeded its present dimensions ; but the supposition that it 
has lost a vertical thickness of 200 feet, and is still un- 
destroyed, is entirely unauthorized by any known deposit of 
the kind within the limits of the county. 

But though the hypothesis of a submarine outlier, as the 
source of what may be called the " high-level flints," appears 
to be untenable, it is not, perhaps, an utterly improbable 
explanation of the presence of those which form so important 
a portion of the existing beach at Slapton. I may observe 
that the remarkable shoal, commencing three quarters of a 
mile north-east of the Start Point, and extending in that 
direction for three and a half miles, has nowhere more than 
five, and in many places not more than two and a half 
fathoms of water on it, whilst the immediately adjacent 
soundings are from ten to fifteen fathoms. This submarine 
bank is so admirably situated for supplying the beach, that 
it would be of great interest to determine its composition. 

3rd. The "high-level flints" just mentioned occur, with 
other pebbles of distant derivation, in the Eaised beaches, in 
the Ossiferous caverns, in the Brick clays, and in fissures and 
"pockets" which exist in the limestone hills. Respecting the 
hypothesis that they are the relics of a wide-spread gravel 
which once covered this district generally, it may be remarked 
that such gravels still exist on the high grounds of Milber 
Down, and in the adjacent valley at Aller, about four miles 
from Torquay; that they still partially occupy the Teign-and 
more easterly valleys, as well as the heights which bound 
them ; and that, though they have sufiered very much from 
denudation, considerable remnants exist in numerous localities. 
In the present state of the evidence, therefore, no hypothesis 
respecting the source of the flints in the marine or fourth bed 
in the Torquay valley, as well as those at all the higher levels, 
is so free from objection as that which regards them as re- 
deposited portions of this old gravel formation. 



THE 

DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRAOHIOPODA 
OF DEVONSHIRE AND CORNWALL 

BY W. PEVOELLY, F.B.8., F.O.S., ETC. 



The question of the exact place of the Limestones, Slates, 
and Grits of North and South Devon and Cornwall, in the 
chronological series of the geologist, has been recently re- 
opened. For nearly forty years they have been generallv 
held to be chronological equivalents of the Old Bed Sana- 
stone of Herefordshire, Scotland, and elsewhere; and, on 
account of their great development in this county, they, 
and all rocks held to be contemporary, have been termed the 
"Devonian System." With one possible exception, they are 
the oldest rocks of the two counties, and being surrounded 
on all sides by more modem formations or by the sea, we 
have not the advantage of studying their petralogical relations 
to rocks of higher antiquity whose chronology has been 
definitively established- To add to the difficulty, these 
"Devonian'* rocks, especially in South Devon, are wonderfully 
disturbed and dislocated. 

As, then, we cannot hope for information from super- 
position — the most trustworthy of all tests in geological 
chronology — the problem must be either abandoned adtogether, 
or must be solved on paleeontological evidence only; and if 
attempted through the testimony of the fossils found in the 
rocks, the attempt must be made in a deliberate, cautious 
spirit. Our first business appears to be that of determining 
what fossils we have ; how many of them are found in other 
districts, and in what systems they occur ; and what species 
are common to the different localities and zones within our 
own borders. The only satisfactory method of doing this 
appears to be that of arranging the facts in a tabular form ; 
that being the method which is most compendious, and which 
shows at a glance what we do not, as well as what we do, 
possess. 



THE BRACHIOPODA OF DEVON AND CORNWALL. 



171 



In this communication my aim is to show in a series of 
tables what is the distribution, so far as is at present known, 
of the Devonian Brachiopoda of Devonshire and ComwalL 
My facts are exclusively derived from the highest source — 
the Monograph of British Devonian Brachiopoda^ by Thomas 
Davidson, Esq., P.R.S., f.g.s., &c. &c., published by the Palseon- 
tographical Society in 1864-65. 

The Class Brachiopoda, according to Professor Huxley, 
belwigs to the Third Province (Molluscoida) of the Sub- 
Elingdom MoUusca.* They have, says Professor Owen, " two 
long spiral arms developed from the sides of the mouth, and 
respire chiefly by means of their vascular integument or 
' mantle.' One valve of the shell is applied to the back, and 
the other to the belly of the animal, which is attached by its 
shell, or by a pedicle to some foreign body."t 

In the present day the species are by no means numerous, 
but they are widely distributed, and some exist at greater 
depths than any other bivalve mollusks. In earlier geological 
epochs they were much more abundant, and they date from 
a very early period in the earth's history. 

The Brachiopoda found in the Devonian deposits in Devon 
and Cornwall belong to 78 species, 24 genera, and 5 families. 

Table I. 

BHSWnrO THE DIOTRIBUnON OF THB DKVONIAN BRACHIOPODA OV DSVOV 
AND OORNWALU 



■DiKiiA aud wnctm. 



5 S 



1 Terebiatul* «aceului , 

2 T. jiiYeniH 

3 T. KuwtDniensifl 

4 r. thitiffJta 

fi Btringocepiialiui Burtini 
T Athyria concemtrica . 
B A- phalnsGft 

12 ReUiafflHta . 

13 Uncitos ^nrphiu 
U Spirifera v©rneuilliiveldiijuixf?ta 



« Jokee' '* Manilla of Geology," page 381. 1862. 

t Ency. Brit, ed. TiiL, toL xt., page 322, Art. '* MolloBca,'* 



186a 



172 



THE DISTBIBTTTION OF THE DETOMIAN 



1 


ourxBA SMU ttwetn. 


i 
g 


1 


1 




1 


1 


■J 

m 


1 


s 


i 


1 

1 
s 


1 


1 


3 


1 


1 


1 
1 

a 


15 Sp, liQTic^)«t&YQlo«tiobta. 

10 Sp. speciosa , . * . 

17 Sp. aut-cuspidid* 

19 Sp. nudA . . . . 

20 Sp. ciirrsU . . . . 

21 Sp. Urii . . . . 

22 Bp. simplex . . - . 

23 Sp.prinmm . . . , 

24 Sp. NgiPt&m'mMit 

25 Sp. ktj3t£rita . . . . 

26 Sp. itneata td micro^amttut 

27 Sp. iamifwfa , , . . 
23 Spirifarina cristata, mr. octo- 

plicata . . . . 
2& Sp. irmuipU , , . . 

30 Cf rtiiiA heteioclita . 

31 a DemarlJi , . - , 

32 C, amblygona . - , . 

33 Atrvpalens . . * . 

34 A. fopida , . . . 
3d A, TCticularii! , . , , 
2a A, aspera , * . . 
37 A. dedquaniAta ^ . . . 
33 A, flabellBta . . . . 
3B Daridsonia Vsmeullii 

40 Rhvnchonolla triloba 

41 It. PongelUana 

42 R. bifPiu . . * , 

43 R. pugnof flt t^fflr, anisodonU . 

44 R, acuminatft . , . . 

45 R. renifomuft . , » . 

46 R. pleurodon et wur. , 

47 R. cuboidea . . . , 

48 R. laticoate . . . . 
4d R. pmnipilaris <3t rar. implexa . 

50 R. angnkHfl . « , . 

51 R. Ogwellieiuu 

62 R, protrsw-ta . . . : 

53 R. LimunatonienBis , 

54 Canmraphoria rhomljoidea (tbI 

globiUina) . , . . 
&& Pentamerua brnvirostri* , 
66 P. bipUcatufl . . . . 
57 Stropbom^im rhomboidftlia, Mr, 

analo^a . . . . 

63 Stroptorhjnchua umljinculnin » 

59 St. crcTifitria . * . , 

60 St. gigas . . . , 

61 Leptee^ inteMriAlia 

62 L. iiQbilla , , . . 


V 

♦ 

• 
m 

* 

* 


• 

• 

* 


« ■ 

m 
m 


* 

* 

* 

• 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 
* 


■; 


V 

* 

• 

* 
* 

_ 


4 
« 

• 

• 

r 

* 
* 

* 


: 

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 


4 
• 

• 

* 

* 
* 

• 

4 
4 

* 
• 

4 

m 

4 


V 

4 
4 

;; 

4' 

4 

* 

4 ' 

« 
4 


• 
« 

* 
• 


4 

:: 

:: 

.. 

;: 


4. 
4 

4 
4 


• 

• 
4 

4 

4 
4 
4 

4 
4 


4 
P 

4 
4 

4 


4 



BBACHIOFODA. OF DEVON AND COKNWALL. 



173 



1 


•nzsA jjfs ir>Div> 


1 


1 


1 




1 


d 


1 

1 

PP 


f 


s:; 


1 


S 


1 


^ 


1 


1 


1 


1 

1 


63 L. fTel Orthifl) latic^tA . 
04 Orthifl Btnatuk vel retiupmata . 
06 0. arcuata , , ♦ . 
6B 0, mterlineata , . , . 

67 0. Mjtpariony^ , , , . 

68 0. ifrnfiulmta . . , * 

69 Choiietoa sonlida 

70 Ch. Uardrensifi 

71 Cb- nimuta . . . . 

72 Strophaloak productoidee Tel 

caporata . . * . 

73 ProductuH prffilongua 

74 P- Bubaculeatufl 
76 i*. tcsbncMltiJt 

76 /*. hfiffi^pintiM 

77 Diucina niUda 

Or 


• 
• 

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 


* 

* 
* 


4 
« 


* 

m 


• 
f 


* 

• 
* 


« 
• 


• 


« 1 


« 


» 


V 

• 
* 


* 
• 


• 

* 

■ 


v 

• 

1 * 




19 11 


10 


37 


H 


37 


26 


23 


20 


» 


5 


4 


7 


Ifi 


6 


2 


20 




3& 


16 


3S 


2, 


24 


21 


IS 




6 






12 





Before proceeding, the following explanations may be 
serviceable The fourteen names printed in italics are those 
of species which are probably good, but are not suflBciently 
made out on account of the imperfection or insufficiency of 
of the material* 

Calceola sandcdina, though occurring in Mr. Davidson's 
list, is omitted here, because it has become the prevalent 
opinion that it does not belong to the Class "BixuMopoda"\ 

The species in the column headed "Pilton" have been 
found at Pilton, Marwood, Sloly, Baggy Point, and Croyde 
Bay. The first is a suburb of Barnstaple, the second and 
third are about three miles north by west> and two and half 
miles north by east respectively from that town. Baggy Point 
is the northern horn of Barnstaple and Croyde Bays— the 
latter a branch of the former. 

Brushford is a village about one mile and half south of 
Dulverton, and three and half north-west of Bampton. 

South Petherwyn is a village about two miles south-westerly 
from Launceston, in ComwalL The fossils are chiefly found 
in the quarries at Landlake, in the parish of S. Petherwyn. 

* See Deyonian Monograph, page 106. 

t See GeoL Mag., yoI. liL, pagee 369, &o. and 406, &o. 



174 THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAK 

Woolboroagh quarry is adjacent to the road from Newton 
Abbott to Totnes in South Devon, and a short mile from the 
former. 

The limestone quarries grouped under the general name of 
" Oewell" are in the immediate neighbourhood of Chircombe 
Bridge, on the river Lemon, about two miles west of Newton 
Abbott. 

Barton is a village about three miles northward from Tor- 
quay harbour. The fossils assigned to this locality are found 
in Barton and Lummaton hills — two adjacent masses of lime- 
stona 

Hope's Nose is the northern horn of Torbay. 

Dartington House is about a mile and half northward from 
Totnea 

Meadfoot Bay is adjacent to Torquay, and lies between it 
and Hope's Nose. The fossils occur in gritty slates, 

Looe Harbour in Cornwall is from thirteen to fourteen 
miles almost due west from Plymouth. 

The fossils in the columns headed ''Carboniferous'' and 
" Coomhola" show the number of Devonian species found in 
Devonshire and Cornwall, which have also been met with in 
the Carboniferous Limestone, and the "Coomhola grits" 
respectively. The latter are so named from the district of 
Coomhola near Bantry Bay in Ireland. They are commonly 
supposed to be of the age of the Carboniferous slates, to 
have their place immediately below the Carboniferous lime- 
stone, and to be the base of the Carboniferous system. 

Mr. Davidson was so good as to furnish me, by private 
letter, with the information in the column headed " Silurian." 

The double totals at the foot of the table arise from the 
exclusion or inclusion of the species marked with a query. 
It will be observed that none are so marked in the Brushford, 
Petherwyn, Meadfoot, Liuton, and Looe columns. 



BRACHIOPODA OF DEVON AKD OOBNWALL. 



175 



Table II. 

SHOWUrO THB DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

PILTON, ETC. 



•r>cis«. 


i 


p 


1 


1 


1 


1 

i 




^ 


# 
* 

t 

* 


a? 


i 

■1 


1 


i 


1 


■1 


1 Terebratulu smiiIus 

a r, elongatu , , . , 

3 Atbyris cone^ntrica * 

4 Spiriferft Verne uiMii y©1 dis- 

jancta . . . . 

5 Sp. Urii . , . . 

6 Sp. tamino$a . . . . 

7 Spiriferina criaUla, var. octo- 

plicata . . . . 
S Rh jncho Delia pi earodonetrar. 
R- Iftticoflta . . . . 

1 Strop homea a rhomboidal is, var. 

aDuloga . . , . 

1 1 StFeptorphjnchuB orcnislria . 
I'i Ottliis striatala vel resupmala . 
13 0. int^rimeata 

U Chonete^i HardrenBis 

15 Strop halosia productoide« tcJ 

caperaiA , . * . 

16 Productas pr»loti^s 

17 P. ecabriculut 
IB P. hngispinut 
U Discina Qitida 

30 l4i[igiila aquo^tniformla 

1 Totals , 


* 

* 
• 


* 
* 

* 


* 
* 
• 

• 

« 
* 


\[ 


• 
• 

» 

• 
* * 

• 


« 
* 
* 


* 

* 
* 


* 


* 






4 
• 

* 

• 

* 
* 


* 


* 


n 


a 


6 


a 


6 


fi 


4 


3 


b 


*i 


I 


1 


l(* 


9 


I 



It has not been thought necessary to give the doable totals 
in the second and following Tables. Here and henceforward 
both the species and the localities receive the benefit of the 
doubt 



176 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DBVONIAN 



Table III. 

SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

BRUSHFORD. 



tPBtlliK^ 


1 


1 


1 


1 


1 


1 

> 


1 


£1 


i 


;s 


1 


i 


i 


j 


i 


1 T«rebralu1a ^Accutaa 
3 S pififer aT^meui lu v&] diiy urn eta 
3 Sp. Urii . . . , 
A Spiriferina criE^tata, ^ar. octo- 
plicaU . . . , 
5 RJijQGhoneUaplearodoTtelf^dr. 
fl SLreptorbynchus creniAtna 

7 Orthia intftrlineata , 

8 ChoT*ete» Hiirdrcnais 

9 SiropbatoiiiA productdides vel 

eaperota . * * . 

10 ProduPtPis prffiloDgnB 

11 P. tcab^ricultn 

ToUU * 




* 
* 

m 
m 


4 






4 
* 


* 


* 




• 




« 


m 
• 
# 


? 

■- 

• 




4 


3 


1 




2 


1 


1 


2 


2 





1 


5 


1 






Table IV. 

SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIPODA FOUND AT 
SOUTH FBTBERWYN. 



■FIClfel. 


1 


1 


1 


1 

s 




1 

m 

1 


i 


1 


1 


» 


1 


1 


5 


j 


S 


1 Atbym ooncentrica 

2 SpxriferaVemeaiJUveldj^HDcta 

3 Sp. Urii 

4 Sp. Uneata vel micro gamma . 

6 Atrypa reiiculariB 

Ehynchonella pugnus et uat. 
aniaodoriU - , , , 

7 E. pleurodon et var. 

a Cam arap h ori a rhom boid ea ( vol 
globulina) , . . , 

9 Slrophalosia productoides vel 
cape rata , , , . 
10 Prodaotus iubafluleatus , 


* 

* 

4 

4 
* 


* 
« 

4 


4 
4 

4 
* 

• 

4 


4 
4 


• 

* 

* 

4 

* 
* 


« 

4 
4 


4 

« 
4 


4 
* 


4 
4 

4 

4 


« 




• 


* 

4 

4 
4 

4 


? 

• 

f 
m 


4 


5 


4 


7 


3 


s 


5 


3 


» 


4 


I 





I 


5 


4 


1 



BRACHIOPODA OF DEVON AND CORNWALL. 



177 



Table V. 

SHOWING TVS DI8TBIBC7TION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 
WOOLBOROUOH. 



spsGiai. 


1 


* 
* 

3 


* 

« 

• 
* 

• 

• 
7 


1 

-• 

• 
■ 

• 
* 
« 

• 
* 

* 


1 

• 

:: 


1 

1 

* 

* 
« 
* 

• 
* 


« 
« 

« 

* 
? 

* 
• 

* 

» 

« 
* 
* 

* 


* 

• 
* 

• 
« 
* 

* 

• 
• 

m 

m 

t 


• 

• 


1 

* 
« 


» ■ 

• 

V 
V 


i 

• 
* » 


« 

* 
• 
* 

* 
« 


« 

7 


* 

9 


1 Terebratulfl aa^calus 

2 T, Newtoniensiis 

3 Slringocepbalus Burtioi . 

4 Albyri!* coricentrica 

6 A. NewtonitmU 
Mtfriaia pleb&ia 

7 HtfUia ferita . , . . 
t* Uncites gryphus 

SpiriforaYerueuiliiTeldi^uDctfl 

10 S p. IwviccfSta ¥el ^Mtiolata 

11 Sp. sub-cuBpidaUi , 

12 Sp- undif^ra et «at-. undalata . 

13 Sp. irnda . * , . 
U Sp. curTato . « . . 
\b Sp. kimpiex . , . . 
13 5p. NtwUmUnsu 

17 CyrtJna heteroclita . 

18 C. Demarlii . , . . 

19 Airypa reucolaris . 

m A. aspera . . . . 

21 A. d^»quaTiiaU 

'11 A.ilabeUata . . . . 

23 Davidsaina Veroeuilii 

'J 4 RhynchoDellft tribba 

;2a R, pu^nu!^ i3t trar. anUodotita . 

'20 R. af^uminaU . , * . 

J7 R. pleurodtrti et ear, 

28 R. CQboide* , . , . 

29 R. pri mi pil aris et t? ar. im p\eia. , 

30 CaTTiRrapKoria rbomhoidea (vel 

gU(htilma) . . . . 

31 Pentftftitirus breviroatris , 

;J J Smj pho rn e u a rhom boidali^ t?af r 
anaLoga . . . . 
33 Streptorhyiaehuft umbracalum . 
3t LeptiEna iptfrHtriAlis 
35 L. nobiUs , . - , 
35 Orthi!* gtrintula t«1 resnpiiiata 

37 0, ^ranu^oia . , * . 

38 PruductuA iubaoulMtoK , 

ToUli . 


1 ■- 
* 


L9 


'in 


1» 


13 


3 


* 


1 


e 



VOL. IL 



178 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF THB DXVQMIAN 



Table VI. 



8H0WIN0 THB DISTBIBUTIOV OF THB DEVONIAN BRAGHIOFODA AT 

oGWBiJi, Era 



aiMiv* 


] 


i 


1 


j 


1 


1 


1 


s 


^ 


:4 


J 


i 


1 


11 


t Striogocephftlua BurtinI , 

2 MeriHta plebeil 

3 Retzift feriU , * * . 

4 Uncites gryphan 

6 Spirif^ra spcciosa * 

Sp. curvata , * , , 

7 Air^pft retioulBTJB * 

5 Ebynchonella trilob* 

R. cuboidea . . . . 
10 R. Ogwellienaii 
) i Cftmarflpboria rfaomboidea (vel 
globulina) ♦ ♦ . . 

12 PeutameruB br^viro atria . 

13 Lept^ria iijl©rmrsali» 

H Orthis strifttula vel resupioflta . 

la Stropbaloflift productoidea i^el 

eaptrata . , , . 

Totals . 


* 
* 
2 


* 
1 


• 

9 


* 

• 

• 
• 

* 


• 

• 
• 
« 

• 
* 

a 
11 


a 

a 

« 
a 

• 

* 
* 

7 


• 
m 

• 
• 
a 

a 
a 
a 

10 


9 


• 
* 

a 




V 


» 


i 




3 


13 


6 





t 


I 


1 


1 1 



BSACHIOPODA OF DEVON Aim CORNWALL. 



179 



Table VII. 

8H0WINQ THS DISTRIBUTION OF THB DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

BABTON, sra 



irNClM. 


i 
s 




t 1 


1 


1 

1 


1 


1 


i 


1 


1 


J 


• 

a 
a 

a 
a 
* 

* 

« 
;; 

: 


• 


a 

a 


1 Terebratola Etonlns 

2 TJuvenw . . . . 

3 Ath^rU Bartonittuu 

4 Mtiri^u pie beta 

& Retzjft fmtft . , . , 

6 Spirifera Verneaillii Tel dis- 

juneta . . , « 

7 Sp. undife™ et imt. UDdtil&tA » 

8 Sp. uuda . . . . . 
e Sp. t^urvttta . . . . 

10 Sp. Urii . , , , . 

11 Sp* simplei . » , , 
1^ Sp. liruata vit micro -gamma . 

13 Spiri/erina insculpta 

1 4 Cjnina beterocliu . 

15 C, Demariii , . * . 
10 C. ajTibJy(jroiia . , , . 

17 Atrjpaleptda . . . 

18 A. reticQlaris * * . . 

IQ A. aspera 

*iO A* dt^squamala 

21 Rh>nchODpl]a triloba 
•22 R. pMgaus et vat. acihodoata , 
'i^3 R. acuminata . , . . 
'^1 R. nsnifomiis , , . , 
25 R, ciiboidos , . , ., 
'-^0 R. priroipilariB ^t par. impl*xa 
37 B^ HTigulana . . , ■ 
S8 B, LuTjimftLoDiensis 
20 Cftniaraphorift rbomboidea (toI 
globaUna . * . . 

30 Peniamenia bievirontria . 

31 P, biplicatna . . , . 
S% Stfopbomena i-homboidalia var. 

analoga . . . . 

33 StreptorhjDcci$ nmbractilam . 

34 I^ptf^na interstriallB 

35 L, nobiUa , , , . 
35 Orthi* stnatula vel resupitiata. 

37 Stn^pbabsia productoidw fol 

c«p«ratA . . . , 

38 Ptmluetiu iubaouleatas . 

TnUls . 


• 


• ^ 


* ♦ 


» 
• 

« 
:: 

• 

* 

• 

m 
* 

* 
* 


a 

* 
* 

* 

« 

« 

• 
• 

18 


a 

• 

■ 

• 
* 

• 
• 
• 

« 
« 

• 
a 
• 

• 
18 


9 
• 

a 

a 
* 

* 
a 

* 
■ 
a 
• 
* 
• 

• 
* 

* 

• 

V 

IK 


* 
• 

• 

a 

• 

a 
* 

10 


*. 
.. 

a 


• * 

• * 

V 
V 

2 


I 








* 


* 


* * 












* • 


















• * 












■ 1 * 

• a 


• 




■ ■ 














« 
ft 


• 
4 


- * 
* ' - 

9 W 



IT 2 



180 



THE DISTBIBUTIOHr OF THE DEYONIAK 



Table VIII. 

BHOWINQ THB DlfirnUBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOFODA FOUND AT 
hope's N06E. 



i»CZi», 


1 


1 




1 


., 


• 
* 

i 

• 
♦ 

V 

* 

« 
• 
« 

* 
• 

• 

« 
♦ 

« 


1 


5 

* 
• 

• 

* 
* 
• 

• 

• 

V 

* 


• 

« 

* 

• 
* 

• 
• 
* 

12 


• 
* 

a 


1 

♦ 
V 

3 


1 

« 
1 


• 

• 
Z 


V 

5 


* 


1 Terehralula sacctilue 
% At hy rift coocetitricfi 
a A. phAlflDQa . , . , 
4 Mensta plebela . « . 
b Spirifer* Vern&uilUi vel dh- 
juncta . • . . , 
6 Sp. speciosa . , ♦ . 
T Sp* sab-cunpidaU . 
B Sp. undifera ei var. unddata . 
fi Sp. Dyda . . » . 

10 Sp. curvata . , , . 

11 5p. hiftUrica . . * , 

12 Sp, ^tneaea vd mieTO-gavtma . 

13 Cortina hejteroclita . 

14 Atrjpalens . , 

16 A. redcnlaris * . . . 
IG A. asp*?ra . * , . 

17 A. dGBqunmata 

18 Kliynchonellft bifera 

19 R, cubojdes . . , . 

20 Kh primipilam et var. implexa 
31 R, protTftcta . . . . 
22 Pen tain ems breviiostrii * 

2S Strophomeiiarhomboidalis^cor. 
analoga , . . . 
34 Stmptorhynchas umbracwlum . 
as Onhis ^iriatukTel r«atiptnatA. 
39 O. arcofttft - . , . 
37 Chouetes mmuU . 
2a Prodaottis sub-aculaatofl ♦ 

ToUU . 


• 
* 

* 
* 


* 

* 
i. 


• 
« 

• 
• 

* 


& 


2 


5 






18 


16 


14 



BRACHIOPODA OF DEVON AND COBNWALL. 



181 



Table IX. 

SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

DARTINOTON. 



■FHISL 




I 




J 


1 


1 


1 

1 


^ 


i 


1 


1 


J 


1 




J 


1 Stringocopbalii* Buitim . 

2 Ath^ria conicontricft 

4 Unoiksft iB^r} phuB 

5 Spiriieta nudA 

6 Sp. *^urvattt , . . - 

8 Spiriferina cmtata, vt^. octo" 

plicatft . . . . 

9 Cyrtiim heteroclita . 

10 Atn^po reticukriB * 

1 1 A. aspeni . * . . 

12 A. deiiauamikU 

13 Ehynchoiielltt triloba 

14 R. pugnuft et var, ankodont* . 

15 E. cQboidea , . . . 

16 R* primipiljms et Vftr. implexa 

17 R^ angulam . . , , 

18 Pentaiiienia brcvirOBtria , 

19 P. biplicAtus , . , . 

20 Stit>phomenarliomboidaIiB,t?<ir, 

anaJoga . , . . 

21 Strpptorh^mchus umbraculmn » 

22 Leptona Ijitcrfltrialifl 

24 Chonete* minuta 

Totals . 


* 
• 

« 


» 


« 
• 


* 
* 

• 

* 

♦ 

* 
* 
* 

• 

• 
• 

• 


* 

* 
m 

m 

m 

• 
• 

* 


• 
* 


* 
« 

* 

* 
• 

• 

* 
* 

• 


* 
• 
• 

* 
• 

• 

1 


• 

• 


• 

* 




• 
« 


* 


V 
V 


• 


4 


1 


S 


20 


10 


IS 


16 


Ifi 


11 


2 


2 


2 


' 





% 



182 



THB DISTSIBirriOK OF THE DKVONUH 



Tablb X. 

BHOWUfO THB DlfiTBIBUTIOM OV THE DSVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

FLTHOUTH. 





1 


1 


1 


; 


1 


1 


1 


} 


1 




i 


j 


1 


j 


1 


1 Tcrebratnk sacctJitiB 

2 T, JQvenifl , » , , 

3 Sb'ingocoi>biirliia Biirfini . 

4 ileriftU plebeift 
6 Spirifera auda 

6 8p. curvAta . . . . 
J Sp. aimplei . . 

8 CjTlina heteroclittt . 

9 AtTypo reticiilarii . 

10 A, aepera . . . . 

11 A. doBqiiiLinata 

12 RbJ^ehQnelk trUobtt. . 

13 R. pii^iis, ot vnr. aniaodomta 

14 K. acuimnaia . . . . 

16 R. ouboides . . . . 

1 16 H. primipilfms et var. impleia 

17 Fi. protracta . . . . 

18 Pentamerufl breviroBtriB . 

19 Jjopt«>ixa int^i-Blrialia 

I 20 Oithia Btrifttula vcl reiupinatft 
21 a arcuata , . . , 

Totala . 


* 

* 
2 


• 
1 


« 
« 

2 


IS 


* 
• 

• 

« 
• 

9 


18 


• 

• 
* 

* 
* 

* 

4 
* 
• 

14 


16 


* 
• 
• 

* 

4 
• 

4 





i 




* 

4 
m 




4 


1 


1 


3 




1 



BRA.CHIOPODA OF DEVON AND CORNWALL. 



183 



TABLE XI. 



SHOWING THB DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

ILFRACOMBK. 



■rcriEi. 


1 


1 




1 


1 


1 


1 

1 


i 


i 

1 


1 


1 


1 


j 


j 


1 


1 Bgmi^eiana «trit$ffiei^ 

2 Stringoc^i^iidua Bm 

3 AthyTM concentrica 

4 Meriatii pleboia 

6 Spirifcra VeraeoilLi 

6 Sp. upcciofla . 

7 Sp, nudft 

8 Sp, purrata 

10 Atrypa reti<;ularifl 

1 1 A. arippra 

12 Rhynrhonellfl pleHfT 

13 Strupliomeua rhomb 

jmalop;tv 

14 Streptorhynchiia m 

15 Orthiii Btriatft tcI re 


ft 
rtini - 

i vei difl- 

» * . 

nlon et tar, 
oiilalis, par. 

nbracolttni 
jupinata . 


* 
m 

# 
• 
* 


• 
* 


* 
* 


• 


4 

V 

* 
* 

* 


* 

* 

t 
* 
« 

* 

9 


• 
« 

• 
* 
♦ 

• 
• 

m 

9 
* 
* 


* 
• 

• 

9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 


* 

* 

* 

« 
* 

V 


* 




* 


* 

9 


-' 


* 


Tot 


Olfl . 


5 


2 


4 


13 


6 


10 


12 


" 


8 


2 


2 


1 


2 


e 


2 



TABLE XII. 



SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

MEADFOOT. 



nmtm. 


1 


i 


1 


! 


1 


|: 


i 


i 
1 


1 


i 


1 


1 


_ 

♦ 
2 


2 





1 Spiriferft undifet* et v^r. luidu- 

lata . . - * ^^ 

2 Sptriferina cmtftta, war. octopli- 

c^U . . . - . 

3 Rhynclioiielltt pleurodon et rur. 

4 StnsptorhjTiehua umbrae iilum . 
6 I^ptfena (vol Oiibi*) kticorta . 

TfltAlfl . 


• 
* 


4 


* 


* 
« 




■ 


9 


• 


'■ 


* 


I 


« 

9 

2 


2 


2 


1 


3 





2 


2 


2 





2 



184 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DKVONUN 



Table XIII. 



8H0WINQ THB DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

LINTON. 



1 SpirifoTB li^vicoBtu vol oertiolatA 

3 Streptorhytichttft timln*ai3uluiii 

4 OrtluA striatula veA raflupinata 
6 0. ffratmloMa 



ToUli 



4 



TABLE XIV. 



SHOWING THB DICTRIfiUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

LOOE. 



1 Spirifora primoeva . 

2 Sprnferiiuk cristala^ var. ooto- 

plicntu 

3 Atrj^pa reticuUrifl 

4 Rhynchonellji Pfln^eHiania 
6 Btrt*ptcjrhjTidiufl gigaa 

6 Loptuona (vel Orthia) kticovtOr 

7 Orthis hipp^rinHy^ . 

ToUh . 









I 



BRA.CHIOPODA OF DEVON AND CORNWALL. 185 



The foregoing Tables bring out the following facts : — 

1. Of the 78 species, 26, or one-third, are restricted to 
single localities ; 19 are common, and restricted, to two locali- 
ties ; 6, to three ; 4, to four ; 8, to five ; 9, to six ; 4, to seven; 
and 2, to nine localities. No species is common to more than 
nine of the localities. 

2. The localities richest in species are Woolborough and 
Barton, each having 38, or almost one-half of the total of 78. 
The poorest is Meadfoot, having only 5 — an illustration, 
perhaps, of the influence of the mineral character of the old 
sea bottom; the rocks in the first and second being limestone, 
and in the last, gritty slate. 

3. The two localities having the greatest number of species 
in common, but not restricted to them, are also Woolborough 
and Barton; the number being 26, or fully two -thirds of 
the total in each. The three localities similarly distinguished 
are Woolborough, Barton, and Hope's Nose; and Woolborough, 
Barton, and Plymouth; the number being 17 in each case: 
it is almost as great in the case of Woolborough, Barton, and 
Dartington. 

4. If, as is usually done, the Devonian rocks of Devon 
and Cornwall are divided into three groups — Upper, Middle, 
and Lower, — and if, in accordance also with the common 
practice, Pilton, Brushford, and Petherwyn are regarded as 
belonging to the first ; Woolborough, Ogwell, Barton, Hope's 
Nose, Dartington, Plymouth, and Ilfracombe, to the second ; 
and Meadfoot, Linton, and Looe to the third, the 78 species 
divide themselves thus : — 11 are restricted to the Upper 
Zone, 9 to the Upper and Middle, 4 are common to the three, 
43 are restricted to the Middle, 5 to the Middle and Lower, and 
6 to the Lower: hence the total numbers found in the zones 
are 24 in the Upper, 61 in the Middle, and 15 in the Lower. 

5. Petherwyn has a greater number in common with 
Barton and also with Woolborough — two localities of the 
Middle Zone — than with either Pilton or Brushford — locali- 
ties of the Upper Zone, to which, as is commonly believed, 
it also belongs. The interpretation of this fact may be that 
it occupies a chronologically intermediate pleura In the same 
way Linton and Meadfoot seem more closely connected with 
the Middle Zone, than they do with each other or with Looe. 
The species, however, which occur in either of these localities 
are but few in number. 

6. All the Brushford species occur at Pilton. 

7. Species occur in common to every pair of localities, 



186 THB BRACHIOPODA OF DEVON AKD CORNWALL. 

with the exception of Brushford and Linton, Petherwyn and 
Linton, Ogwell and Meadfoot, Plymouth and Meadfoot, and 
Linton and Looe. These pairs consist of a locality from each 
of two distinct zones, with the exception of the Last 

8. Whilst there are but two species derived from the 
Silurian fauna, the Devonian transmits twenty-two to the 
Carboniferous— of which, 15 occur in the Carboniferous 
limestone^ and 12 in the Coomhola beds : hence, so far as 
the evidence goes, the connection of the Devonshire rocks 
with those of the Carboniferous system is closer than with 
those of the Silurian. In other words, the basement beds of 
the Devonian system do not exist in Devon or Cornwall ; or, 
to put the same fact in another form, the interval of time be- 
tween the Silurian and Carboniferous periods is but partially 
represented by the rocks of this and the adjoining county. 

9. Of the two Silurian species found in the Devonian 
Brachiopodous fauna, one {Atrypa reticularis) is found in 
nine of our thirteen localities, but it neither occurs in the 
Uppermost Devonian beds of Pilton or Brushford, the Coom- 
hola series, nor in the Carboniferous limestone The other 
(Strophamena rhomboidalis) occurs in six of the Devon and 
Cornwall districts, and it passes up into the Carboniferous 
limestone. It is an example of the same species, being a 
member of three consecutive faunae — a protest against the 
doctrine of a synchronous and universal depopulation of our 
planet. It affords evidence, also, of the imperfection of the 
geological record: for whilst it occurs in Silurian deposits 
and in the Middle and Upper Devonians, it has not been 
found in our Lower Zone. 

10. Of the twenty-two species which, outliving the De- 
vonian period, formed part of the Carboniferous fauna, 7 are 
from the Upper Devonian Zone only, 8 from the Upper and 
Middle, 4 are from the Middle Zone only, and three occur in 
each of the three zones : hence, 3 date from Lower Devonian 
times (so far as Devon and Cornwall are concerned), 15 occur 
in the Middle group, and 15 also in the Upper division. Of 
the 15 species found in the Upper Devonian and the Carbon- 
iferous rocks, every one occurs in the Pilton beds ; in other 
words, three common to Petherwyn or Brushford and the 
Carboniferous series, are common to them and Pilton also. 
In fact 75 per cent of the Pilton, and just as high a ratio of 
the Brushford, as well as of the Petherwyn Brachiopoda pass 
up into the succeeding formation, whilst from the two zones 
below, the highest ratio is that of Ilfracombe, which is 47 
per cent. 



ON THE OPENING OF AN ANCIENT BRITISH 
BARROW AT HUNTSHAW. 

BT H. FOWLER. 



In the early part of this month I received a letter from Dr. 
Thompson, of Bideford, acting on the behalf of a party of 
gentlemen who had just previously beeen at the opening of 
a similar Barrow near Putford, requesting me to superintend 
the opening of the Huntshaw Barrows. This I undertook to 
do Mdth much pleasure, as I felt great interest in the matter. 

The first necessary step was to obtain the consent of the 
Honourable Mark RoUe, the owner of the soil. This was 
readily and cordially granted. I now required the consent 
of Mr. Squire, the tenant of the farm, and I here so far 
succeeded, that I not only obtained his sanction, but also his 
personal assistance. 

I now consulted Mr. Pearce, of Torrington, a most zealous 
antiquarian, who undertook at once to co-operate with me, 
and obtain suitable workmen. Five labourers, under Mr. 
Pearce's guidance, were soon got together, and employed to 
cut a trench, as previously arranged, through one of two 
Barrows, situated a short distance apart from each other. 

Mr. Doe, of Torrington, a learned archseologist, Mr. Pearce, 
and mjrself, had, long before this time, entertained thoughts 
of doing the same thing. 

The barrow thus cut through, and which is the easterly 
Barrow of the two to which I have referred, is situated about 
two and a half miles to the north of Torrington, in a field 
which bears the very significant name of Burrow Park. This 
place was evidently, in the days of our Celtic forefathers, one 
of considerable importance, for in the surrounding neighbour- 
hood five other Barrows are found. 

The land here is of considerable elevation, and is believed 
to be the highest in this district that lies between Exmoor 
and Dartmoor ; and observations made from the summits of 



188 THE OfUUAU OP AH ANGHHT 



the rmom Buiows would extend OYer an area oompriaiiig 
more than one-half the oonnty. 

It 18 worthy of iemaik» that just heie-abont a red earth, 
piobaUy some ^raffiety of tin new red sandstone^ firat makes 
lis appeaianoa It wends its way in a westerly direction 
nntil it leaehes the sea ooas^ a distance of about six miles, 
oeeasionaUy dij^ing nnder the overlaying st rata» and as often 

In fimn&e Banowisof the ordinary round or bowl-shape. 
It is remaricable fiHr the regular arrangement^ and I might 
say symmrtry, of aU its parts; for although we were not 
fortunate enough to meet with any of the expected relics, 
such as ums» dsts, brense implements, or other remains of 
this kind, yet the section made by cutting a trench Rve feot 
wide right through its centre, and down to the primitive soil, 
laid open to our view such a symmetrical arrangement of all 
its parts, that we felt ourselves greatly rewarded for the pains 
we had taken. 

The plan which I have here drawn, and which is made 
ftom actual admeasurement, will convey a better idea of its 
structure than any description I can give in words. The 
foUowinff appean to have been the method of its construc- 
tion: — ^A pan or bason was lint scooped out of the earth. 
This pan in its centre had a depth of two feet» and presented 
the appearance of an inverted segment of a circle, whose chonl 
measured 88 feet, representing the base line of the interior, this 
was theu filled in with fine mould. Over this, to the height of 
four feet, were distinctly traced 18 alternate layers of wood- 
charcoal, and fine mould of the same character. This part of the 
Barrow I conceive to be highly interesting, and may posHibly 
lay open a field of research which I cannot Hnd has ever bm^i 
minutely or satisfactorily gone into. The layers of charcoal 
have an average depth of five-eighths of an inch, and thoHo 
of mould, two inches. I have very carefully examined the 
whole mass, but I cannot trace the slightest remains, either 
of bones or of bone ashes, in it. I should not wish, however, 
any reliance to be placed on my failure to find these flut>- 
stances, as a more microscojuo examination and a mora correct 
chemical analysis than I have made may find them both ; 
and should this ever be the case, one inference would n^adily 
present itself to us, that they were 18 separate strawin^s of 
the burnt remains of the dead, intermingled with the woml- 
charcoal, and ashes in which they were burnt The lay(»r 
above this had a depth of three feet, and consiHtcMl of the 
same kind of mould, two feet of which have since Immmi worn 



BRITISH BABBOW AT HUNTSHAW. 189 

away by the processes of agriculture. The whole interior or 
nucleus of the Barrow was now built up. 

This structure was now coated with a circular capping of 
clay, having a depth of two feet, the upper part of which was 
worked or puddled, evidently with the design of protecting 
the contents; lastly a capping of stone, of the presumed 
depth of one foot, was placed over the whole. This stone 
was not the stone of the immediate district, but the ordinary 
shistus of the country, carried there from a further distance. . 

At the point where the circular coating of clay springs 
from the original soil, and which is on a line with the base 
line already described, the clay spreads itself out to the extent 
of about 10 feet, tapering away to a point. 

It now would have presented to the eye the appearance of 
a section of a sphere ; and the thought here may well suggest 
itself, how far this globular form, together with its stone 
capping, may be typical of the Druidical religion. These 
tumuli, constructed on what were then dreary upland moors, 
must have been objects of awe and veneration to our ancient 
British ancestors, their very form doubtless suggesting, on 
the bleak horizon lines, the form of the setting sun, with its 
various associations 

The adjoining Barrow, to which I have already alluded, is 
very different in its character. A partial cutting shows the 
interior to be composed almost entirely of one homogeneous 
mass of clay, with occasional streaks of charcoal. Its summit 
has not been so much worn away, and the stone capping is 
found further up its sides. 

The space between the Barrows is elevated some feet above 
its original level, from the falling in of the debris, and a 
merely superficial observation would lead one readily to infer 
that they were originally united. Actual admeasurement 
however proves, that their bases were originally about 30 
feet apart. 

Our want of success in finding any such remains as urns 
or cists may be attributed to the possible fact, that they were 
placed in some part of the bed of the Barrow out of the 
centre; for, in such a case, it is evident that numerous cuttings 
might be made without coming across them. 

We have hopes, therefore, that some such remains will still 
be found, and the more so as the perfectly undisturbed state 
of the portions already examined precludes the idea of the 
Barrow having ever before been opened. 



182 



THB DISTRIBUTIOK OF THE DEVONIAN 



Tablb X. 

BHOWINO TBI DIBTRIBUTIOH OF THS DKVOMIAM BBACHIOFODA lOUND AT 

PLTMOUTH. 



■fvcni. 


I 


i 


it 

^1 


l' 


1 


j« 


1 


B 





1 


J 


j 


j 


. 


1 TorebTTitnk »cculits 

3 T. juvenia . * ^ ^- 

3 Strmffocepliiilua Burtini * 

4 Merurta plebeia 

5 Spirifera nuda 

6 8p* currata . . * . 

7 Sp. fliinplajc . . . . 

8 Cyitiim hoteroclita . 

9 Afaypa reticularis . 

10 A. aapeni . . . » 

11 A. dcequamata 

12 Rhync'honella triloba 

13 It pugnufl, et t^r. anifiodonta 
U R. acuminata * . - . 

15 H,i5uboid<?s . , . , 

16 li. primipikriij et tar. implexa 

17 li protracta . < . . 

18 PoTitamorus brevipoatris , 
Id IjeptiXjnft interatriiilw 

20 Orthis Btritttula v^l rwupinata 

21 0. areuata , . , . 

Totak . 


• 


• ■ 


■ ♦ 


• 
* 

* 
« 

9 




« 

■ 
« 
« 

• 
« 

• 
• 
• 
* 

* 

14 


16 


• 
« 

a 


V 


' * 


• 

• 
* 


V 

* 


• 


















• * 












• • 














* 
2 


1 


2 16 


1 


I 


3 


4 


1 



BRiLCHIOPODA OF DEVON AND CORNWALL. 



183 



TABLE XI. 



SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA lOUHD AT 

ILFRAOOMBS. 



Is 



1 HeuAgflayia ttritifftetpM 

2 Stringpcephalii* Bmimi . 

3 Athyns coucentrica 

4 Meriffto plebem 

6 SpirifHrii VenjeaQlii Tel difl- 

jiincU 
fi Sp, ^peckwa , 

7 Sp. ivuda 

8 Sp. cmr&ta 

9 Cyrtina heterocUta 

10 Atrypa reticuJAils 

11 A- aapera 

1 2 RhyTw^honellB plenrodon et var. 

13 Strophoraonarhomboidaliiijiwf. 

analogs 

14 StT^ptorh^nchiu umbmciilcim 

15 Oiihia stnata vel resuptnata. 

Totak . 



13 



10: 



12 



It 



TABLE XII. 



SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODA FOUND AT 

MBADFOOT. 



•Ttctn* 


1 


1 


i 


1 




d 


1 
1 




1 


i 


1 


1 


1 


j 


1 


1 Spmfera midifem ©t var. undu- 

lata 

2 Spuiforiiui crMtata* mr. octopH- 

cato . . . - , 

3 RljjTichoneUA pleurodon et var, 

4 Btrpptorhynchus umbrae ul ma . 

5 Leptirtm (vel Oilhis) kticosU . 

ToUIb , 


• 
• 

2 


m 
« 

2 


* 
T 


* 

* 
• 

3 





• 

* 
2 


* 

• 
2 


* 
2 





* 
• 

2 


V 

T 


* 
1 


2 


2 






192 THE SILVEB MINES AT COMBMARTIN. 

these and other agencies, are in operation in all valuable 
mining districts is strongly attested to by various writers on 
geology ; and Professor Philips cites Aldstone Moor, Flint- 
shire, and the Harz as shaken to pieces by dislocations. This 
series of rocks has a length of many miles from W.N.W. to 
E.S.E., meeting the coast at a small angle, and a minor 
breadth of over two miles, the entire area presenting silver- 
lead ores, more or less, whether in mining works, lime- 
quarries, natural sections, surface stones, old lead -slag, 
water- courses, drains, or the plough. The close neighbour- 
hood of lime rocks is seen in many of the best lead mines in 
many parts of the world, lime seeming to play an important 
rdle in the mineral as well as in the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms. 

It has been suggested to me by the Eev. W. J. Hore, that 
the close vicinity of lime, as a dissimilar rock, may act 
favourably for ore, as granite or elvan so results near slate. 
Decomposition of rock is often present, under such circum- 
stances, and may also allow of fracture, taking the line of 
least resistance. The minerals freely associated with these 
ores, as matrices, are the sulphurets of zinc, iron, copper, and 
antimony, the carbonates of iron and lime, the oxides of 
silicum, magnesium, and aluminum, an assemblage adequate 
in amount and character to form large centres of crystalliza- 
tion and to aggregate large deposits of ore. Much and 
moderately hard crystallization is a rule in best ore deposits, 
though exceptionally otherwise at times; seemingly that 
there shall be exceptions to rules here, as elsewhere in 
Nature, and to healthily puzzle man*s mind. 

In reference to ore deposits generally, Sir Henry De la 
Beche writes: "Very erroneons impressions often exist in 
respect of their extent. Instead of occupying the whole 
extent of the lodes, they occur in bunches, very rarely for 
great distances in the richest, the intervening portions be- 
tween the bunches frequently containing strings and specks 
of ore, in unprofitable quantities, yet sufficient to maintain 
the metalliferous character of the lode. At other times the 
lode is squeezed to very narrow dimensions to again open out 
and reyeal profitable bunches of various sizes and shapes ; 
and hence the necessity of a constant system of working for 
discovery is requisite to meet the decline of previously dis- 
covered sections." Illustrative hereof, he cites Fowey 
Consols, the successful career of which was attributable to 
this consideration. These facts accord with nature, as seen 
at surface ; every development, whether animal or vegetable. 



THE SILVEK MINES AT COMBMARTIN. 193 

requiring growing and living room, as well as a fixed extent of 
development ; otherwise it would be choked or starved on 
the one hand, or monstrous on the other, and are points 
worthy of the attention of future workers. The ore is a 
sulphuret of lead, containing the large proportion of 62 oz. 
silver per ton, some portions consisting of FdJUers ore, repre- 
senting upwards of 1,200 oz. silver per ton. Different 
countries or even • counties have different aspects, surface 
products, climates — the inhabitants themselves varying in 
feature and gifts, yet all harmonize in principle and detail ; 
so it is very consistent that minor variations should exist 
beneath the earth in different mining districts. Otherwise, 
and better, it has been said, "Nature works harmoniously 
with infinite variations, each variation being a realization of 
the fundamental idea.** Thus Cornwall differs from Wales, 
both from the North of England, these again from other parts 
of Britain or abroad ; requiring in each case fresh study from 
one previously unacquainted with their relative differences, 
and thus obviating in effect death's dull monotony. 

As now, such, or much like, was nature's physical appear- 
ance long since ; when, may be, Phoenicians traded, attracted 
by the nearness of the sea-board for their crafts, and ancient 
Britains, Bomans, and Normans mined here, as elsewhere 
they did in Britain. In some sort of proof hereof Camden 
writes, " Of the first fynding and working the silver mines 
there are no certain records remaynge;" whence a presumption 
accrues that some work occurred prior to that which he 
proceeds to describe. With the working these mines in the 
time of Edward I. and II., as also Henry VII., seem to be 
associated those of Beer Alston. From accounts in the Tower 
it is known that over 300 men were imported from the Peak, 
in Derbyshire, to work them. In the 22nd year of the reign 
of Edward I., William Wymondham accounted for 270 lbs. 
weight of silver, forged for Lady Eleanor, Duchess of Barr, 
and daughter of Edward I., and he was fined 251 lbs. 10 dwts. ; 
23rd year, 522 lbs. 10 dwta ; in the 24th year there was 
brought to London in finest silver, in wedges, 704 lbs. 3 dwts. ; 
the next year 260 miners were pressed out of the Peak and 
Wales, and great was the profit in silver and lead. In the 
reign of Edward III. the sUver was great towards the main- 
tenance of the wars with France. In the reigns of Henry V., 
or may be Henry VII., they were worked, as the latter paid 
much attention to his mines, and thereby benefited the 
treasury. 

Among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum is a 

VOL. II. 



194 TUB SILVER MINES AT C03iBMAKTlK. 

treatise by Stephen Atkinson, a partner and manager for 
Bulmer in Queen Elizabeth's time, and who refined in the 
Tower in 1586, and afterwards in Devon. He writes, "A new 
silver mine was discovered at Combmartin, by Adrian Gilbert 
and John Poppler, a lapidary, with whom Mr. Bulmer baigained 
for half the whole. It continued for four years reasonably 
good, and yielded ;£10,000 to each partner. A cup made 
therefrom by Mr. Middley was given to the city of London 
by Mr. Bulmer. Camden also writes to the same effect^ 
adding, " and lately, in our age, in the time of Q. Elizabeth, 
there was found a new lode in the land of Eichard Roberts, 
gent, fyrst beganne to be wrought by Adrian Gilbert, Esq., 
and afterwards by Sir Beavis Bulmer, by whose mynerable 
skille great quantitie of silver was landed and refin^, out of 
which he gave a rich and fayre cup to William, Eaii of Bathe, 
whereon was engraven, if I rightly remember, this poesie, 

** In Martyn*8 Combe long lay I hydd. 
Obscured, deprest with grossest soyle. 

Debased much. wiUi mixed lead, 
Till Bulmer came ; whose skUle and toyle 

Refined mee so pure and deene, 

As rycher no where els is seene. 

*' And addinge yet a faider g^race. 

By fiBshion ne did inable 
Mee worthy for to take a place, 

To serve at any Prince's table. 
Coombe Martyn gavo the use alone, 
Bulmer, the fyning and fashion. 

"Anno nostrse salutis, 1593, Reginae Virginis, 35, No- 
bilissimo Viro Willielmo Comiti de Barthon, locum tenenti 
Devoniae et Oxon. 

"And also another, with a cover, to Sir Richard Martyn, 
Knight, Lord Mayor of London, to continue in the said citie 
for ever. It wayeth 137 ounces, fyue, better than sterling; 
on the which these verses may still be seen : — 

" When water workes in broaken wharfes 

At first erected were, 
And Beavis Bulmer, with his arte, 

The waters gan to reare ; 
Dispearsed I in earthe dyd lye, 

Since alle beginninge old, 
In place called Combe, where Martyn longo 

Had hydd me in his moulds. 

" I dydd no service on the earthe, 
And no manne set mee free, 
Till Bulmer, by his skill and change, 
Did frame me this to bee. 

"Anno nostras Redemptionis, 1593, Reginae Viiginis, 35, 



THE SILVER MINES AT COMBMARTIH. 195 

Sichardo Martino, Militi, iterum Major sive vice sucunda 
civitatis London." 

Queen Elizabeth encouraged mines and other industries, 
and imported Brunswickers, or Germans, from the Harz Mines, 
as more experienced. A personal letter of Charles I. is now 
owned by Mr. Webber, of Buckland House, Braunton, which 
reads as follows : — 
" Charles R. 

"Trusty and Welbeloued — We Greet you well — We haue 
Receiued a faire Character of your Affections to our Welbeloued 
Servant Thomas Bushell Esq. and of your seruicable 
Endeauors for aduancing his further discouery of the Mynes 
att Cummartin in order to the publigz Good, and haueing had 
a sight of the Oare, which we conceive lyes there in vast 
proportions according to the Testimony of Antient Records 
in that behalfe, we haue thought titt, not only to let you 
know that We shall esteem an acceptable Service if by pur- 
suance of your first principles you add to his encouragements, 
but also by any Act of Grace that may reward you or your 
posterity readily make good the same— Soe not doubting your 
Chearful Compliance with him in all things tending to the 
advancement of soe good a Worke, We bid you farewell — 
Given under our Sign Manuell at Our Court at Newport in 
y« Isle of Wight, this 26th day of October in y« 24th Year 
of Our Reign 1648. 

"To our Trusty and Welbeloued subject Lewis Incledon, 
of Branton, in our County of Devon, Esq." 

The ore in these mines is unusually massive and free from 
waste, having occurred in masses over 10 tons weight, and 
widths exceeding six feet pure, so that its sight might well 
impress the Royal mind. The suggestions the letter contains 
were probably frustrated by the untimely end of the writer. 

In 1659 the attention of the Long Parliament was direc- 
ted to these mines by Mr. Bushell, an eminent mineralogist 
and pupil of Sir Francis Bacon, but, probably, the civil wars, 
which greatly affected the western counties, interfered with 
their developement It is somewhat curions that the analagous 
lead-bearing beds of Liskeard and Beer Alston on the one 
hand, and Combmartin on the other, being respectively the 
southern and northern outcrops of a geological basin, as 
shown by Mr. Whitley, should be so closely associatecl in 
history; but the companionship is mutually creditable. 
Thus six reigns pursued the acquaintance of Combmartin, 
seeking to enrich their royal blood from its blue veins. The 
new lode found in Richard Roberts's land by Adrain Gilbert, 

2 



196 THE SILVER MINES AT COMBMARTIN. 

and of which so favourable an account is given, may be one 
south of and parallel to old Combmartin lode, as it is in the 
immediate vicinity of lands formerly of Roberts's tenure, and 
old extensive suiface-workings are there of rich ore, and in 
the track of workers before them. Various old levels are 
observable in the district area, in the sides of hills, admitting 
of natural drainage. The old Combmartin lode proper, two 
others to its north, with that before-named, hitherto present 
I chief evidence of being the site of ancient works ; though, 

ii from the district being in enclosed land, other old vestiges 

j have been effaced, by reinstating the land for agriculture. 

I In 1813, a Company, initiating in Beer Alston, still 

|! preserving the historical association, started, but it were a 

misuse of words to say "worked these mines." They were 
I! not only, as De la Beche has it, " most unskilfully managed," 

! but a reckless affair, unworthy of serious attention towards 

I forming an estimate of its merits. A reliable man who 

worked there then, informed me that " he helped to cut a lode 
I of perfectly solid ore from four to six feet wide, in the adit 

level on old Combmartin lode, and the ancients had had the 
same to the surface." The surface lately yielded at this 
point, the result of old under excavation in question. 

In 1 835, the last Company began on the same site, raised 
ore from the same works, but afterwards reached eastwards 
some ancient pumps, about 20 fathoms from the surface, 
above which the ore had been removed, and immediately on 
sinking under them, found its continuance, which eventuated 
in returning over i;60,000, but which amount would have 
been greatly increased had the tribute ground been properly 
explored, and which, consequently, is still available to a 
profit. The ore was explored down to 118 fathoms from the 
surface, between two dislocations converging to a point, the 
greatest distance between them where worked, not exceeding 
40 fathoms, as represented in the section. Beyond nor below 
these very confined boundaries was pursuit made on the strike 
of the lode at either end of the works, or on its hade in 
depth. The analogy in all mines points to the high proba- 
bility of equally good results accruing from thus extending 
works ; as ore abutting on one side of a dislocation is usually 
found equally good on the other. Where, as here, a vertical 
section of 600 feet gives ore on the plane of each dislocation, 
and one of them gives ore each side its plane, in the upper 
levels, the latter being the working of the year 1813, the 
position is materially strengthened. A diagram shows the 
"throws," the points where to look for the counterparts of the 



THE SILVER MINES AT COMBMAKTIN. 197 

ore. lu the north and south parallel are four or five other 
ore- producing lodes, the most southern of which is the 
one before-named as probably associated with Adrian Gilbert s 
working. Hereon twelve tons of ore, of high silver produce, 
were raised by working tributers on their own account since 
the last company worked, which is now as good a few feet 
below the day level, they being unable to pursue it deeper, as 
the steam-engine being long gone, the water was too strong. 
Ore in rocks of 1| cwt. pure, made close to the surface, and 
had been oversighted by ancient workers, of whose large 
excavations for ore there was evidence in pillars of ore left 
to support the works still north. This shows how a company's 
interests might be advanced by a proper tribute system. . In 
1813, a rich lode was found below this level, and probably an 
extension in depth of its ore. There being no appliance to 
keep out the strong water, tlie men with difficulty saved their 
lives. The local survivor's tale was discredited, till lately it 
was confirmed by Captain John Blamey, who had the same 
account from the other survivor, when he was in the Brazils 
many years since, under the employ of Sir Wm. Williams. 

Intermediate between this and old Combmartin lode 
proper is a lode sunk through in the engine shaft, 50 fathoms 
deep, for which 5s. in the pound tribute was offered, but neces- 
sary haste to complete the shaft deferred the acceptance of 
the offer. It lies deep under the centre of the valley, hence 
unknown to ancients. North of the old Combmartin lode is 
one met with at 27 fathoms cross-cut, where it produced 
several tons of very fine graiii ore. On proving the back of 
the level, ancients were found to have pursued it from the 
surface, and these hints of further extension have yet to be 
adopted. Yet north are sites of extensive ancient works, rich 
in silver, as well as new lodes, which, with ground to the 
south of the area, are matters of much interest. A main 
feature is the occurrence of ores in each lode, in the same 
parallel as it is analagous to other good mining districts, it 
being well known that ore-bearing zones are so arranged on 
the line of the dislocations. Intersections of dislocations 
and lodes at small angles are favourable circumstances. 
These facts are clearly seen in the plan and transverse 
sections. The strong outcrops of ore on old Combmartin 
lode proper, on south lode and elsewhere, present a tliird 
analogy to other rich mines, a strong outcrop denoting a 
strong mine in the deep. Refei^ence has been made to 
historical association with Beer Alston mines, and there 
appears no reason for believing otherwise than that old 



198 THE SILN-ER MINES AT UOMBMAKTIX. 

Combmartin mines would admit of as profitable exten- 
sion in the deep, as in the upper levels, thus following the 
example of the former mines, which have been wrought 
profitably to 100 fathoms deeper. At the deepest point 
attained, ore was as strong, thick, and, if anything, richer for 
silver, than in the upper levels, — points sufBciently conclusive 
of the well-being of its constitution ; but length of ore at 
this point is mechanically impossible, as before explained, 
till the counterparts are sought for, where respectively thrown. 
A feature of especial interest is the appearance of the great 
south lode at this, the deepest pai-t, converging towards old 
Combmartin lode proper. Both being rich in ore here, it is 
supposed, and with strong reason, that their union within a 
few fathoms in the deep, will surpass in production the upper 
levels. The parent rock of these lodes is of a favourable 
character on all sides ; and immediately east is the meeting 
of two valleys and wet ground, which are favourable omens. 
The longitudinal and transveree sections show in detail the 
various points noted, and the quick extensive proof to be had 
of them, and the tribute area on the rise of 600 feet, by the 
various well-placed workings available, and which improved 
adaptations will further facilitate. Truly systematic manage- 
ment of a well-comprehended subject, is essential to prac- 
ii! tical success "If,** as was remarked in the Inaugural 

; Address of this Association, " great results need great perse- 

verance," be it so here. " If rocks be the history of a place," 
Combmartin's surface, beauty, and underground resources 
equally confirm the statement. 

The practical development of the science and art of 
mining is a public boon to an industrious population, in 
which the memory and example of Queen Elizabeth, who 
spoke well of Devon, might be advantageously imitated. The 
second and third resumption of old mines, or accidental dis- 
coveries in those about to stop, is the history of the best 
Cornish and other mines. Dolcoath is now working 1,800 
feet deep for tin, on the third mineral zone in depth, copper 
having disappeared with the second zone. Few in Cornwall 
believed in this zone when Sir William Williams's judgment 
and energy led him to join it. Great profit has accrued, with 
ore reserves enough for the next generation. Wheal Vor and 
Linares are notable for profitable resumption on parallel 
lodes ; Devon Consols for success after prior neglect of sur- 
face indications ; ^st Wheal Eose for success responding to 
renewed perseverance at the last moment ; Great Wheal 
Towan for great prosperity from accidental chipping of the 



THE SILVER MINES AT COMBBfAKTIK. 199 

other side of a lode, which had been long pursued on its 
strike ; Lisbarne for being successful after condemnation by 
the best authorities ; Tamaya was successful after long sink- 
ing through very hard ground. Confirmatory of the same 
are Berehaven, Greenside, Greenwich Hospital, Ecton, West 
Chiverton, Beer Alston, Herodsfoot, Brookwood, with many 
others. These historical antecedents, geological precedents, 
returns of recent date, facilities of proof, this opportunity of 
improving on past experience, which is the heirloom of each 
succeeding generation, are elements of high import in the 
future of our subject — the fallow of a rich harvest, the 
dawning of day. Nature's storehouses are not Itmcs natiirce, 
but are filled with arrangement and a purpose, over which 
the key of human knowledge has power. Reasonable faith 
and action shall be beneficently reciprocated by a sufficient 
supply for our use, the rest being reserved for those yet to 
follow, who shall read this part, as others, of Nature with a 
clearer, though still incomplete, perception of its infinity, 
with a deeper, yet not perfect, emotion of admiration and 
reverence. 



-ON THE 



jij SOURCE OF THE MURCHISONITE PEBBLES AND BOULDERS, 

;: IN THE TRIASSIC CONGLOMERATES OF DEVONSHIRE. 



BT W. VICARY, F.0.8. 



It is a well-known fact that the fragments of rock contained 
i in the Triassic conglomerates of Devonshire, are in most cases 

■^ derived from the nearest older formation, and can be easily 

\ identified with it. To this rule, however, there are a few 

|ii exceptions, amongst the most important of which are the 

j^ materials composing the "pebble bed" at Budleigh Salterton, 

l| the limestone pebbles found at North Tawton and Sampford 

!i Courtenay, and the pebbles and boulders containing that 

variety of feldspar commonly termed Murchisonite, and which 
are scattered generally, but not abundantly, over the New Red 
Sandstone area from Jacobstowe to Credition, at Heavitree, 
Topsham, and from the Exe southward to the termination of 
the formation. 

It is the Murchisonite pebbles and boulders to which I 
purpose calling attention in the present communication. 

The Rev. W. Conybeare, by whom they were mentioned in 
1821, considered them to have been derived from the granite,* 
Sir IT. De la Beche speaks of them as trap pebbles, and 
imagines them to have been derived from trap rocks not seen 
anywhere at the surface, but which may lie beneath the 
Triassic sandstones and conglomerates.! Mr. Godwin-Austen 
states that "No granite pebbles have been found among the 
various materials of which the new red conglomerates are 
composed.! 

1 will now proceed to state the evidence which has led me 
to a different conclusion from that arrived at by the two last 
named geologists, and to hold, with Mr. Conybeare, that the 

• "Annals of Natural Philosophy," vol. i., page 254. 1821. 

+ Report on Devon, Cornwall, etc., page 217. 1839. 

J Geol. Trans., 2Qd series, vol. vL, part 2., page 478. 1840. 



ON MURCHISONITE PEBBLES AND B0XJLDEB8. 201 

masses containing Murchisonite are but altered portions of the 
granite of Dartmoor. 

Professor Church has been so good as to make for me a 
careful analysis of a specimen of feldspar taken from the 
Dartmoor granite, and also of a specimen of Murchisonite ' 
from the Triassic conglomerate at Exminster. The subjoined 
results show that they might have been parts of the same 
crystal, so little do they differ in composition. 

Feldspar from Dartmoor. Marchiaoiiite frtnn Ezminster. 

SUica 66-61 66-27 

Alumina 19-73 20-34 

Potash 12-78 12-43 

Soda 1-60 1-44 

Lime 0*33 0*33 

Magnesia 0-10 0-19 

100-00 10000 

The feldspar crystals from both sources contain small flakes 
of mica, grains of quartz, and crystals of, perhaps, another 
variety of feldspar embedded in them ; they are also macled 
— the different halves reflecting light at different angles. 

Tlie Murchisonite pebbles are never vesicular or amygda- 
loidal, as trappean fragments may be expected to be ; and, as 
I have already remarked, they contain two kinds of feldspar, 
one of which uhis, whilst the other was not, capable of resisting 
the action of some decomposing agent to which they had 
been subjected. They occur in the Trias in close proximity 
with pebbles of schorl and altered rock, a collocation strik- 
ingly similar to that met with in Dartmoor streams ; indeed, 
there is a close resemblance between the fine sand in the bed 
of these rivers and that of the Triassic deposits in which 
these pebbles are imbedded ; there is a little less mica incor- 
porated in the red sand, but the quartz, feldspar, and schorl 
are the same in both. Loose crystals of the Murchisonite 
type are abundant in the Dartmoor streams, in the gravels 
bounding those streams, and in the adjacent fields; ready, 
whenever a transporting agent is at hand, to assist in forming 
a new conglomerate. 

The Murchisonite pebbles found in the Trias differ, no doubt, 
in both colour and texture from the Dartmoor granite in situ. 
The difference of colour, however, is far from being conclusive 
against their granitic derivation ; for when it is remembered 
that, through long residence in the Trias, fragments of Carbon- 
iferous grit and Devonian limestone (the latter easily and 
with certainty identified by means of their fossils) have 
undergone marked changes in this respect, it is not unreason- 



I 



202 ON MURCHISONITE PEBBLES ANI> B0ULDEB8. 

able to suppose the colour of the Murehuonite pebbles majr 
have been superinduced also. The colour-changes in the grit 
and limestone are, in all probability, ascribable to the oxyda- 
tion of the iron they contain ; and as the black mica of the 
Dartmoor granite contains ten per cent, of iron, there is an 
ample supply of colouring matter for its fragments also. We 
have the authority of Sir Charles Lyell for supposing that 
the conditions to which the Trias has been subjected have 
been favourable to the development of a red colour in all 
material containing iron.* 

It may be remarked in passing that the Murchisonite 
pebbles are rarely of the same colour as the feldspathic traps 
in situ, and that in some localities the latter overlie Triassic 
conglomerates containing Murchisonite pebbles. 

Both the detached crystals of Murchisonite and those con- 
tained in the pebbles are red, and have been described by 
some mineralogists as a flesh-coloured variety of orthoclase or 
common feldspar. 

It is worthy of remark that the fragments of the ciystals 
found in the huff-coloured sandstones of Exminister are much 
lighter than those in the red sandstone of the same neigh- 
bourhood; thus showing that their colour is influenced by 
that of the deposit in which they may chance to be entombed. 

As to texture the pebbles found in the conglomerate do not 
probably differ more from each other than do those of granite 
and elvan, which occur in the existing Dartmoor streams. 
Probably the decomposition of their mica has given the 
pebbles the appearance of a closer texture than they really 
possess. 

On fully considering this question, and remembering that 
the valley of the Teign alone divides the two formations, 
and that a bed of granitic sand, sometimes twelve feet in 
thickness, overlies the Greensand of Haldon hill, the base of 
which is Trias, it may be concluded that, if the granite was 
exposed at the surface at the era of the red rocks, Dartmoor 
must have furnished a large portion of the conglomerated 
materials. I feel confident that a thorough examination of 
these materials will prove that granite is a far more important 
constituent than geologists generally suppose. 

* Ly ell's Elements, sixth edition, page 445. 1865. 



/ 




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7> 



THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

WITH A RBSUmA of THE NATURAL HISTORY OP THE COUNTY. 



BT XBWAILD PASFITT. 



The natural history of Devon has had many writers scattered 
over a considerable period of time, bnt np to the present we 
have no work embracing both departments of the vegetable 
and animal kingdoms, — a work that would show at once what 
these departments contained, — so that it should be useful to 
the generaliser, and showing the geographical and altitudinal 
i-ange of the more prominent forms, with, as far as it is 
possible to ascertain, their respective relationship to the 
geological formations of the county. 

To take a retrospective view of what has been done by 
former writers from time to time, and compile and verify 
the animals and plants described and enumerated by them, 
and adding and completing, as far as it is possible to do, up 
to the present time, is the work I have set myself to do. 

Polwhele, in 1797, published all that was known of the 
botany of the county, and, in 1829, Messrs. Kingston and 
Jones published the Flora Devoniensis, in which an attempt 
is made towards the elucidation of the geographical and 
altitudinal range of certain species; and, in 1826, Carrington, 
in his description of Dartmoor, has given us several lists of 
the plants and animals inhabiting that r^on. Mr. Gosse has 
contributed to our knowledge of some of the marine life 
found inhabiting the nooks and comers of our coast, both in 
his "Rambles on the Devonshire Coast," and in his more 
beautiful book. The Actinologia Britannica, 

But from 1829, when the Flora was published, to 1860, 
when the Rev. T. F. Ravenshaw published a catalogue of the 
flowering plants and ferns, nothing appears to have been done 
towards a thorough knowledge of the flora of the county, 
except a few occasional notes in one or more of the periodicals 
devoted to this branch of knowledge. 

. Dr. Cullen, in 1849, published a Flora Sidostiensis, and 
last year Mr. I. W. N. Keys began to publish, through the 



204 THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON. 

Devoa and Cornwall Natural History Society, a Catalogue 
Flora of the two counties. 

But what we have most to do with on the present occasion, 
and to which I would invite your attention, is to a section of 
the animal kingdom, namely, the Annelids, or Worms ; but 
we will first take a slight retrospective view of what has 
been done towards working out the Fauna or Animals of 
Devon, in addition to those mentioned above by Mr. Gosse. 
Col. Montagu, in some of the early volumes of the Linnean 
Society, published descriptions and figures of many rare and 
remarkable animals discovered by himself on our south coast, 
and he continued, with more or less interruption, to publish 
up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1815. Pre- 
vious to his decease, he had prepared a work on the Annelids 
of the United Kingdom, which, since his death, has not seen 
the light until it was kindly lent to me by H. D'Orville, Esq., 
but the arrangement and nomenclature was such as could not 
be adopted at the present time. 

Bellamy's Natural History of South Devon, published in 
1839, is too discursive, and at the same time too limited, to be 
of ai\y particular use ; and Turton and Kingston's Natural 
History of the District includes a better catalogue of the 
animals ; this is also very imperfect. The list of birds pub- 
lished in Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, by Dr. 
Moore, of Plymouth, is very good, and, I believe, was as 
perfect as could be made up to the time it was published. 
Since then Mr. Brooking Eowe has published, in the Devon 
and Cornwall Natural History Society's Reports, lists of the 
birds, reptiles, and mammalia; and Mr. Reading has pub- 
lished, through the same channel, a part of the Lepidoptera 
of the two counties. 

The Annelids, as a class, are animals of very obscure 
habits, living principally under stones, in mud, or, as the 
common earth worm and its congeners, in garden and other 
soil. Their forms and appearances are, generally speaking, 
not very attractive, except to the enthusiastic naturalist, who 
is determined on investigating the various forms of life. 

Although many of the animals included in this division of 
the animal kingdom are not attractive in their appearance, 
there is one division into which they are divided which cannot 
fail to elicit admiration from the most casual observer. The 
Terebellicke, when seen alive in a glass of sea water, are some 
of the most elegant creatures inhabiting the great deep. 
Their beautiful plumose branchia, coloured of various hues, 
with bars and spots, some of them reminding one of the 




THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON. 205 

ocelli in the peacock's tuil, or the Himalayan pheasants ; others^ 
again, with their breathing apparatus of the most vivid colours 
hanging down their backs. 

The marine species range through a zone reaching from 
near high-water mark, where the shore is rocky, and particu- 
larly where the shore is strewed with rocks, to forty or fifty 
fathoms ; but the largest number of individuals and species 
are found, so far as my experience goes, between low-water 
mark and two or three fathoms. This is the zone of the 
generality of tube makers. 

The Annelids have various modes of living. Some con- 
struct themselves tubes, in which they live, either made of 
calcareous matter, or of grains of sand, some of which are 
very compact, and others are mere " ropes of sand." Again, 
some species attach their tubes to old shells and stones, and 
others live with their tubes stuck vertically in the sand; 
some have roving and solitary habits, such as Pectinaria 
Belgica, and others are gregarious, such as SaheUaria Anglica, 
which construct those large honeycombe-like masses on our 
sandstone rocks between tide marks. A few species are 
pelagic, and swim with great activity. One of these pelagic 
forms, and I believe the commonest inhabiting our shores, is 
Nereis pelagica ; I have met with it high up in our estuaries, 
where the water is only just brackish, and where in heavy 
rains it must be inundated with fresh water ; and some speci- 
mens of this species I have met with in muddy places that 
could only be reached by spring-tides, showing at once the 
hardiness and tenacity and the apparent vicissitudes to which 
this species is subjected. 

In the fresh water species Devonshire is well represented, 
and in certain places some of the Plartariadce litersJly swarm 
on the muddy bottoms of ponds and ditches, they being most 
abundant in still or slightly running water. 

Amongst the fresh water species we have some curious 
creatures ; they cannot boast of much beauty so far as colour 
is concerned, but their forms and modes of life are remark- 
able. Thus, in Glossiphonia, with its peculiar habit of carry- 
ing about its young attached to its abdomen, after the manner 
of the Marsupiak of the antipodes ; and it almost seems to 
shadow back through the long vista of time the connecting 
link of the Marsupials of the two hemispheres. Although this 
little animal is not strictly speaking a Marsupial, yet its 
manner of carrying about its young, until they are able to 
take care of themselves, is precisely that peculiar protecting 
instinct that we only give credit to the higher animals ; but 



7\ 



206 THE AllNELmS OF DEVON. 

here we see it in a very lowly creature, apparently the very 
same thing, not in degree only, bat with as much force as is 
seen in the Marsupial vertebiata. 

More than half the species enumerated by Sir John Dalyell 
and Dr. Johnston as inhabiting Scotland and the north of 
England are also found with us. And taking all the species 
known to inhabit the United Kingdom, viz., 298, the marine 
and fresh water inclusive, we have out of this number 164 
species indigenous to this county and the surrounding seas. 

The geographical distribution of these animals is of rather 
wide extent, not only as a class, but the same species are 
spread over a wide area. Thus Leptoplana tremellaris is found 
in Norway add Scotland, on our south coast, and on the south- 
west of Ireland. Many of the fresh water species have an 
equally wide range. Mesostoma rostratum, a small species 
living on the bottom of shallow ponds and ditches. This has 
a geographical range from Denmark to France, and, so feir as 
is at present known, over most of Europe, and from Scotland 
to our own county. The limits of the geographical distribu- 
tion of the members of this family, as here mentioned, mnst 
be received for only what it is worth ; the subject, so &r as I 
am aware, has never received any particular attention, and 
the animsils themselves, until the last few years, have not 
been studied with that degree of acumen they so strictly 
deserve. 

But these few hints may serve to show that the Annelids, 
on the whole, are not much, if at all, influenced by tempera- 
ture, either the marine or fluviatile species. 

The Annelids, as a class, have occupied a place in creation 
from very early times, beginning, as far as we have evidence 
to show, in the Lower Silurian Rocks, in which has been 
found a species of Aphrodita, apparently very nearly allied 
to our present form, A. a^uleata, the common sea mouse, 
which is abundantly cast ashore during storms on our south 
coast ; and traces of various forms have been found, in more 
or less abundance, throughout the various geological forma- 
tions, until a section of the class, viz., the Serpulc^, attained 
a maximum, and seem almost to have predominated in the 
green-sand and the chalk. From this there is an apparent 
decline in their abundance, although they still lingered on in 
considerable numbers through the crag, where we find, for 
the first time, some of the still existing species. 

As before observed, the habits of this class of animals is 
very obscure, and more particularly in their earlier stages 
from the egg upwards ; but few naturalists have turned their 



THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON- 207 

attention to them, and those that have, generally speaking, 
looked upon these microscopic organisms as belonging to 
another group, as their forms, at this early stage, are so very 
different from the adult. Girard went so far as to assert that 
the Flanarians were naked Gasteropoda, MtUIer, Siebold, 
Quatrefages, and a few other naturalists, have paid attention 
to the earlier states of Annelids, and lately Professor Agassis 
has directed his attention to this branch of the subject with 
very good results, but his researches have been principally 
carried on on the shores of North America, and consequently 
refer mostly to American forms. 

I said in the b^inning of this paper, that I have endea* 
voured to verify all the species, as far as possible, that have 
been enumerated by former writers ; and lately I paid a visit 
to a part of our south coast, in the hope of obtaining and 
localizing a species of Sabellaria, said by Montagu, according 
to the reference given in Johnston's Annelids, to have been 
found on the coast to the west of Teignmouth. I traversed 
the shore as far as the sea would permit me to do without 
finding a vestige of the species ; after leaving the Kess Point, 
the rocks between high and low- water mark are as bare as it is 
possible for them to be ; indeed, it is the most barren part of 
the coast of Devon I have ever walked over. This species, 
then, must be either struck out of our list: or is it advisable to 
let it stand with a note of interrogation ? If this animal has 
entirely disappeared from our coast since Montagu's time, 
some cause must be assigned for its disappearance; the 
physical features of the shore must have altered, or some 
other cause at present unexplained. The only other actual 
locality given in Johnston's Annelids ior Sabellaria crassissima 
is Sandgate, Kent, on the authority of Dr. Leach ; it would 
be well if tliis locality could be investigated also. 

In conclusion, I wish to draw your attention to what I 
believe to be a new species of Olycera nearly allied to Glycera 
dvhia. The general facies of the animal is that of dvhia, 
only it is larger than that species, and it has the large and 
peculiar oesophagus, the same as is figured in Griffith's Cuvier. 
The spines in the lobes of the feet appear also to be the same 
as in the type. The principal difference is this, and on it its 
specific identity depends, that on every foot is placed a 
globose scarlet vesicle, and when the animal was alive, they 
showed like two rows of bright coral beads, and they appeared 
to me to be filled with red blood, as if they were used by the 
animal to aerate the vital fluid. The contrast of these scarlet 
globes with the pale yellowish feet gave to the worm a very 



208 THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON. 

conspicuous appearance. I forwarded my specimen to Dr. 
Baird, of the British Museum, who has kindly compared it 
with specimens of the time Glycera dvina in the collection, but 
he can find nothing like this, and he says, " Whether these 
globular appendages depend upon its particular habitat or 
its breeding time, or whether they constitute a good specific 
character, I do not feel able at present to determine ; it is of 
importance, however, to notice them in your description of 
the worm." I therefore propose to name the animal, provi- 
sionally, Glycera vesiculosa, the description of which will be 
found under the head of the genus in the body of the 
Catalogue. 

I have also raised to the rank of a genus a species allied 
to Nereis, and named jY". pennata by CoL Montagu, who 
figured the animal in his MSS., but did not publish it. It 
differs from Nereis in the peculiar lobes to its head, and also 
in the comuted anterior segment of its body. 1 have named 
it D*OrviUea, as a tribute of regard to the gentleman who 
kindly placed CoL Montagu's manuscripts and drawings 
in my hands for investigation, when he knew what I was 
engaged upon. 

I may mention here that Colonel Montagu's manuscripts, 
so frequently quoted in this catalogue, has been presented 
by Mr. D'Orville to the Linnean Society. 



1^ 



A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVONSHIRE, 

WITH NOTBS AND OBSEBYATIONS. 

BT EDWABO PABFm. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Philippi, A., in Ann. Mag. Nat Hist, 14. 1844. 

Leach, Dr., in Enovclop^ia Brit Supp. 1824. 

Templeton, — , in Loudon's Mag. Nat Hiit 

Montagu, Col., Teat. Brit 

Johnston, Dr., Catalogue of Worms. 1866. 

Dalyell, Sir. J., Power of the Creator, yoL ii. 1853. 

Montagu, Col., Manuscript Drawings. 1816. 

Fleming, J., Brit Anim. 1828. 

Cuvier, Baron, Anim. Kingd., by Griffith. 1833. 

Oosse, P. H., A Tear at the Shore. 1864. 

„ „ A Naturalist's Ramble on the Devonshire Coast 1857. 

„ „ The Aquariam. 1854. 
Omelin, J. 0. F., S^stema Naturae. 
Montafl^ Col., in Innu. Trans. 

Baird, Dr., Monog. of Aphroditacea, in Linn. Socy. Journal, toI. yiii. 1866. 
Lankester, E. R., in Linn. Trans., vol. xxy. 1866. 
Donovan, £., British Shells. 1799-1803. 
Turton, Dr., Conchological Dictionary. 1819. 
Dictionnaire dee Sciences Naturelles. 1816-1830. 
Roes, F. W. R, MSS. in Albert Mem. Museum, Exeter. 



Class, ANNELIDS, Lamarck, 

OrtUr I., TURBELLARIA, EhrmUrg. 

StO-OrdOy PLANARIEA, i%M. 

Fam., PLANOCERID^, Bhrmb^ty. 

Grn., LEPTOPLAHA, Ehrenberg. 

Syes in two olusters. 

TREMELLABIS, Mvil. 

Zool. Dan. i. 36, t 32, £ 1, 2. 

South coast of Devon, CoL Montagu. 
Var. a. Dusky brown ; in other respects the same as the 
type. 

Syes in Ibnr dutan. 
VOL. II. P 



210 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

FLEXiLis, DalyelL 

Pow. Great, ii., t. 14, f. 17-26, p. 102. 

Exmouth, under stones between tide marks; not common. 
The eyes in ray specimens were arranged like those in 
Sir J. Dalyell's plate 14, f. 33, P. atomatay but they were 
divided by a distinct white spot. This creature has a 
peculiar movement— a kind of lateral motion; that is, 
when it wishes to move, one side of the anterior portion 
is pushed forward, and then the other alternately, so 
that it appears as if it were divided into two lobes in 
fix)nt. 

ATOMATA, Miill. 

Zool. Dan. L 37, t 32, f. 3, 4; Mont. HSS. 239, t 61. 

Taken by dredging on the South coast, and under stones 
at Exmouth, in rock pools also in the North. It varies 
from pale yellowish to reddish brown, frequently macu- 
lated with brown ocelli-like spots, somewhat regularly 
disposed, and leaving the dorsal line free. When confined 
in a glass vessel, the movements are exceedingly rapid, 
and it has the habit of curling up its anterior extremities 
into ear-like lobes ; these are kept constantly in motion, 
and, as it were, lashing the water. 

Gen., EUBTLXPTil, Ehrtnberg. 

VITTATA, Montagu. 

Lin. Trans, zi., t. 5, f. 3, p. 25 ; M<mt. MSS. p. 241. 

Amongst rocks on the South coast; rather rare. 

Var. a. With central line deep orange, and the yellow parts 

in general more inclining to orange. 
Var. h. Without any yellow ; the ground colour white, 

with the usual black markings. (Montagu.) 

Fam., PLANARIAD^, Duga. 
Gen., POLYCEUS, Ehrenberg. 
NIGRA, Miill. 

Zool. Dan. iii. 48, t 109, f. 3, 4. 

In ponds and ditches, apparently generally distributed. 
This and the following are found in the same places, 
and might at first sight be taken for varieties of each 
other; but it will be observed that this has the head 
more rounded, and the auricular expansion more de- 
veloped. 




WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 211 

BRUNNEA, Mvll 

Zool. Dan. Prod. 221 ; Dalyl., PUn. 37, f. 6, 7. 

In ditches in Exminster Marshes, and also widely dis- 
tributed. It varies very much in colour, from yellowish- 
brown to greyish-black, and glides over the muddy bottom 
in a very graceful manner. 

FELINA, Dalyell 

Johfut.^ in PhU. Trans. 1822, t 49, f. 1-7, p. 437, good. 

In the stream at Polesloe, near the Bridge, Exeter, under 
stones, and also in the piece of water in Shoebrook 
Park, near Crediton. This is a very distinct species; 
the narrow body and long ear-like processes projecting 
in front gives it a peculiar appearance. It is very im- 
patient of light; if brought out for investigation, it 
hurries oflF as quickly as possible to the shelter of some 
stone or other object whereby to conceal itself. Speci- 
mens vary in colour from brown to black. 

Gen., PLAHABIA, Muller. 
LACTEA, Mvll 

Zool. Dan. iii. 47, t 109, f. 1, 2; JkO^^ Pow. Great ii. t 16, f. 6-9, 
p. 107. 

In springs and ponds. In a spring by the road side on 
the top of Bed Hills, near Exeter, and in a ditch by the 
Bristol and Exeter Railway; in a well at Monte le 
Grand, Exeter; plentiful. This is, perhaps, the most 
active of the whole genus; it is very impatient of light, 
living in the densest weeds, or in the recesses of a 
spring or well. When kept in confinement, it always 
hides away under anything that may be in the vessel. 
It does not bear confinement so well as the other species, 
but dies in a few days. When irritated with a feather 
or bit of stick, it moves along like a geometric cater- 
pillar — a mode of progression which I have not noticed 
in the other speciea 

TOBVA, Mvll. 

Zool. Dan. iii. 48, t 109, f. 5, ft. 

In abundance in a ditch which empties itself into the Exe, 
near Exwick, Exeter, June, 1865. It lives on the mud 
at the bottom, over which it has a very graceful gliding 
motion; no muscular exertion appears to be applied, 
but it seems to glide along in the most easy and quiet 
manner. Specimens vary much in colour, from nearly 
white, through different shades, to bluish-black. The 
p 2 



^ 



212 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

two white disks on which the eyes are placed are as 
conspicuous below as above, particularly when the 
animal is in motion. 

TERRESTRis, Diesing. 

L 206 ; Mull., Venn. 2, p. 68 ; Gmelin, Systema, 3092 ; Mont, MSS., 
t. 60, f. 2. 

Col. Montagu says he found this species in several places 
in Devon, and particularly at Knowle, in a shady plan- 
tation, amongst moss, on the border of a stream ; and 
he adds, "It is not confined to low situations; for I have 
taken it in elevated places, under stones shaded by high 
trees far distant from water." 

Marine. , 

ALBA, Dalyell 

Pow. Great ii. pt. 16, f. 21, 22. 

In rock pools between tide marks at Exmouth, September, 
1866 ; rare. The eyes are placed about one-third back 
from the anterior extremity, measured when the animal 
is in motion. 

Fam., DALTELLID^, Johnston, 
Orn., DALYELLIA, Fleming. 
HELLUO, Mvll 

Zool. Dan. iii. 39, t. 105, f. 3; Dalyl, Pow. Great, p. 119. 

Inhabit cold, clear springs that seldom freeze. Montagu 
MSS., p. 134. 

Gen., ME808T0MA, Duget. 
BOSTRATUM, Mull. 

Zool. Dan. iii. 40, t. 105, f. 6; Dalyl, Plan. 127, f. 17- 

In a pond near the residence of E. A. Sanders, Esq., Stoke 
Hill, near Exeter, May, 1866. Amongst decayed leaves 
in abundance. It appears to be very local, as I have 
not met with it anywhere else. It is a very active and 
interesting little species; colour, orange-red, with the 
margin white and pellucid. When highly magnified, it 
is seen to be very finely crenulated; the interranea is 
dotted with scarlet dots; egg-capsules, very large for 
the size of the animal, brown. 

Gen., CONVOLUTA, Oersted. 

ELONGATA, Moiitagu. 

MSS. p. 231. 

"Body compressed, white, opaque, eyes none. When at 
rest, it is about five or six lines long, and as many 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 213 

broad, but extremely amorphous, capable of great exten- 
sion, and becoming nearly cylindrical. When in this 
state, it is not more than an eighth of an inch in 
diameter. Length, when extended, two or three inchea 
South coast of Devon. Rare." 

ASCARIDES, Montagu. 
MSS. p. 231. 

" Body long, lineare, white, with a square black spot close 
to the anterior end. Length, one inch. Coast of Devon." 

The above two species are placed here provisionally. They 
agree to a certain extent with the above genus. At the 
same time, I do not feel confident about them; but 
rather than pass them b^, I have inserted them in the 
hope that they may be verified. 

Sub-Ordo II. TERETULARIA, BlainvilU. 
Gbn., A8TEMMA, Oersted, 
RUFIPRONS, Johnston, 

Mag. Zool. and Bot. i., t. 18, f. 4, 5, p. 538. Mont. MSS. p. 232, sp. 7. 

" On large oysters off the South coast of Devon." 
GORDIUS, Montagu, 

p. Oordius, MSS. p. 231. 

" Filiform, yellowish, with two white spots at the anterior 
end, and a white dorsal line. Length, an inch ; size of 
a bristle. He says it is rather compressed, and its motion 
is smooth without contortion. It was observed some- 
times to inflate its body in the middle, which it gradually 
pushes forward towards the anterior end. A variety is 
sometimes met with of a pale rufous brown colour, 
having a broad white dorsal line; and a very long white 
filiform proboscis or tongue is occasionally darted out 
with great velocity, and retracted very slowly." South 
Devon coast. 

I place the above species in this genus provisionally, as I 
have not been able to meet with it myself; but, from 
Col. Montagu's description, it would seem to belong 
here. (?) 

Obn., CEPHALOTRIX, Oersted, 

-UNIPUNCTATA, Montogu, 

Flanaria unipunetata, MSS., t. 66^ f. 6, p. 236. 

** Pale yellowish- white, with a lunate black spot before the 
eyes, the concave part of the luna in front; body filiform, 
gradually growing thicker towards the head; eyes black, 



l^ 



214 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNBLIDS OF DEVON, 

and rather distant; length nearly an inch. Marine. 
Taken at Tor Cross. Rare." This appears to be an 
nndescribed, or ratber an unpublished, species, so far as 
I have been able to discover; and, from Col. Montagu's 
figure and description, I believe to belong to this genus. 

Gbn., TET&ASTEMXA, Ehrmbirg. 

VARICOLOB, Oersted. 

Johntt,, in Mag. Zool. Bot i., t. 17, f. 4, p. 535. 

This species I met with at Exmouth, under a piece of rock 
near low-water mark, August 27th, 1866 ; and also found 
in old tubes of Sabella Anglica, on the same shore. 
When taken out of its ]|Lding-place it exudes a mucus 
from all parts of its body, to which the sand readily 
adheres. This mucus exudation as it hardens becomes 
a rather fragile tube, coated with grains of sand. 

The eyes are so closely arranged as to appear like a 
transverse black patch. The worm appears white to the 
naked eye, but under the microscope the interranea is 
seen to be yellow, like a central thread ending near the 
posterior extremity. There is a very slight contraction 
at rather more than one-third the length from the head. 
Anus lateral about a line from the tip of the tail. When 
this creature is disturbed it becomes very restless, moving 
about with great activity. 

Gbn., BOBLASIA, Johnston. 
PtTRPUREA, Johnston, 

In Mag. Zool. and Bot. i., t. 18, f. 3, p. 537. 

In holes or tubes made by Sabella Anglica. Exmouth, 
between tide-marks ; apparently rare. 

LACTEA, Mont, MSS, p. 275. 

Filiform, creamy-white, eyes sixteen or more, placed in 

parallel lines, seven or eight on each side the cardiac 

spot, and very slightly diverging behind. 
Head somewhat lanceolate, with rather a long protrusile 

tongue or oesophagus. 
The anterior, for about an inch, is coloured bright rose-red 

above, the rest of the body creamy white, with irregular, 

transverse, milk-white striae, these are more conspicuous 

towards the extremities. 
Body nearly round, but occasionally more or less depressed 

and spread out laterally when the animal is in motion. 

When disturbed, or the water in which it is kept is 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 216 

agitated, it twists itself into intricate knots. Length, 
from one to two feet ; diameter, about half a line. 
Found under stones between tide-marks. Exmouth; not 
common. Colonel Montagu met with his specimen at 
Bantham, under a stone. Dr. Macintosh, in the Micro- 
scopical Society's Journal, April, 1867, page 38, et seq., 
is inclined to regard this species, and olivacea and 
octoctUata, as the same, differing only in colour and the 
number of eyes. In investigating some specimens of 
lactea which I sent him from our coast. Dr. Macintosh 
met with some curious gregarini-form parasites inhabiting 
the worm. 

Gen., OMATOPLSA, Di^iinp. 

MELANOCEPHALA, Johnst. 

Mag. Zool. Bot i., t 17, f. 4, 6, p. 636; Daljfl, Pow. Great, ii., t. 10, 
f. 22-24, p. 91. 

This is a soft, jelly-like species, white, with a faint greenish 
tinge along the sides. There is a very conspicuous white 
transverse mark between the black patch and the pos- 
terior pair of eyes. The anterior pair of eyes are very 
rarely visible, being deeply seated and on the edge of 
the black patch, so that they can be only seen when the 
animal turns its head in particular directions. When 
the head is much extended, the black patch becomes 
concave in front. Found in tide-pools at Exmouth, at 
the roots of Algae, Sept., 1866, apparently rare. 

SpecU», INQUIREND-E. 
OmaiopUa. (?) 
8PIRALES, Mont 

(LineuB spirales) MSS. p. 274. 

"Filiform, yellowish, with a red spiral intestine, the outer 
integument having the appearance of minute annulations 
(transverse stride). Body occasionally depressed the pos- 
terior end often knotted or formed into knobs. Length, 
two or three inches, not thicker than a horse hair." 
Coast of Devon ; rare. 

0. (?) MACULOSA, Mont 

(Lineus maculosa) MSS. p. 274. 

"Filiform, rufous brown, mottled, beneath white, resem- 
bling L. longissimus; length, more than a foot, not larger 
than Oordvis aquatieus,'* Devon coast ; rare. 



216 A CATALOQUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

Oen., LIHEUS, Simmons. 

LONGissiMUS, Simmons. 

Sow., Brit. Misc., t 8, v. 16. 

Coast of Devon, frequent by dredging, sometimes found in 
old bivalve shells. Four or five feet long or more. When 
alive the creature is constantly varying in form. There 
are not two inches of its body alike. 

LINEATUS* Gray, J. E, 

Johfut. Cat. p. 26. 

South coast of Devon. Dr. Gray. 

Obn., MECKELIA, Liuekari. 

ANNULATA, Montogu. 

Linn. Trans, vii. p. 74, and MSS. p. 273, t. 9, f. 4 ; ZWy/., Pow. Crea. ii., 
t. 10-13, f. 7-10. 

Coast of Devon, in about 30 or 40 fathoms water. 

Var. Larger, with similar markings, but the ground colour 

of the body darker, with a wlute line along the under 

side. (Montagu.) Eare. 

Ordo II. BDELLOMGRPHA, BUmchard. 

Sub-Ordo, CRYPTOCCELA. 

Fam., CAPSALlDiE, Baird. 

Gen., CAP8ALA, Bosc. 

BUDOLPHIANA, Dies. 

Syst. Helminth, i. 429. Tar., Brit. Fish. ii. p. 353. 1836. Vignette. 
On the Short Sun Fish (or OrthagoriscM Mola). 

Captured on the south coast of Devon. (Montagu.) 

Sub'Ordo, RHABDOCCELA— (?) 
Fam., MALCOBDELLIDJE, BlainvxlU{}) 
6rn., MALCOBDELLA, BlainvUle. 
OROSSA, Mvil 

Zool. Dan., i. 21, t. 21, f. 1-6 ; Johmt., in Loud. Mag., Nat. Hist vii., 
687, f. 67 ; Mont., MSS., t. 52, f. 1, p. 262. 

This species was first obsei*ved on our coast by Mr. Prideaux, 
who sent several specimens to Col. Montagu for exami- 
nation, and he had proposed for it the specific name of 
Sociatus. The habitation of this animal, he says, is 
within the shell of Cyprina Idandica, adhering to that 
part usually called the fin, which adheres close to the 
cavity of the shell. I may add, that the figures given by 
Col. Montagu are very good, so far as the outline is con- 
cerned, but the colour is greenish white, agreeing better 
with M. Valenciennwi; but the intestine is flexuose 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVAtlONB. 217 

through its whole length, which character at once dis- 
tinguishes it as grossa. 

Ordo III. BDELLIDEA, Johnston, 

Sub'Ordo, HIRUDINAGEA, Grube. 

Fam., PISCICOLIDwS:, Johnston, 

Gen., POKTOBDSLLA, Leach. 

MURICATA, Linn. 

Penn. Brit. Zool., t. 20, f. 14, p. 38, v. 4; Dalyl, Pow. Great, ii., t. 1, 
f. 1-16. 

Found occasionally on the skate. This species was only 
met with once by Col. Montagu, who considered it very 
rare ; but the one he found was a gigantic one, from 
" eight to ten inches long." Although rarely seen on our 
coast, they must be rather numerous from the quantity 
of eggs dredged up, or old shells. It appears to be a 
very common species in Scotland, where it is also found 
on the skate ; and the Scottish fishermen assert that 
dozens are sometimes found on one fish. 

VERRUCATA, Onihc, 

Moguin-Tandon, Monog. p. 288, t. 2, f. 10-12. 

This is also taken on the skate, and is called by the fisher- 
men the " skate leech." It has also been taken on the 
pilchard, ofif Exmouth ; and Mr. Boss remarks that the 
specimen was five inches long, and was filled with blood. 
(See his MSS., v. 2, p. 38.) 

Var. (?) 

Montagu MSS., t. 64, f. 3. 

Yellowish, dusky, with a broad white dorsal line thickly 
dotted with black, encircled with distinct mamseform, 
brown warts on every fourth ring. On each side of the 
dorsal line is a large, dull, purple wart. Anterior and 
posterior suckers purplish brown, without tubercles. 
Length, about four inches. 

This appeal's to me to be a very distinct variety ; but Col. 
Montagu does not give the locality where it was ob- 
tained ; but from the drawing being made in the book 
containing figures of Devonshire animals only, I con- 
clude that this was also taken on our shores. (?) 

AREOLATA, Leoch. 

In Cull. Brit Muse.; Moq.-Tand., Monog. 290, t 2, f. 12. 

Taken in Plymouth Sound, by Mr. C. Prideaux. 



218 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

Gkn., PISaOOLA, BlaintiUe. 
GEOMETBA, Linn. 

Penn. Brit. Zool. iv., t 20, f. 13, p. 38; Mont.y MSS., t 23, f. 3, p. 258. 

Col. Montagu says "South Devon." I should think it 
very probable he met with it on fish in Slapton Ley (?) 
as this was not far from where he lived. 

Fam., NEPHELIDiB, Johnston, 
Gen., ITEPHILIS, Savigny, 
OCTOCULATA, Linn, 

Dalfl, Pow. Great., ii., t. 2, f. 1-19, p. 14. 

Generally distributed in ponds and ditches. 

Var, a. Pale yellowish, with two red lines along each side ; 
in the Canal, Exeter. 

Var, b, Olive green, paler beneath, regularly banded trans- 
versely with yellow, and between each band or fascia it 
is dotted with angular spots. 

Var. c. As above, but without the yellow fascia, and not 
quite so thickly spotted with yellow. 

The two last varieties I met with in the Teign, near Duns- 
ford Bridge, and also in the Sid, near Sidmouth, within 
the influence of the tide at high water, amongst ErUero^ 
morpha intestinalis. 

When dead this leech shows a white space of three lines 
in length, and about the same distance from the head, 
having the appearance of a Clitcllus. Dr. Johnston 
says this appears at certain seasons of the year, but I 
did not observe them until the animals were dead. 

Gbn., AULOSTOMA, Moguin-Tandon. 

GULO, Moq,'Tand. 

Monog. t. 6, f. 1-6, p. 313; Dalyl., Pow. Great, ii. 22, t. 3, f. 1-10. 

Not uncommon in ditches ; very fine in a ditch near Salmon 
Pool, Exeter. In confinement they devour earth-worms 
greedily. They grow to a large size, six or seven inches 
in length when extended. 

Fam., HIRUDINIDiE, Savigny. 
Gen., HJEMOPSIS, Savigny. 
SANGUISUGA, Linn. 

Systema Nat., x. 649 {H. Flava) ; Mont., MSS., p. 263. 

Very local, in a small pool contiguous to the Avon, South 
Devon. 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 219 

Gen., EIBVDO, L\nn<tus. 

TKOCTiNA, Johnston, 

Moq.-Tand,, p. 335-6; Johnston, Med. Leech, p. 31, 32. 

"IT. dongatofusca, supra anntUis aureis maculos atros 
cin^fulatas, niargine svhfiavo laterali, subttis fiava viridis 
punctis atris" 

Olive green, beneath mottled and dashed with orange 
yellow ; annulations rough, with minute points ; lateral 
bands velvety black, interrupted and broken into isolated 
round or elliptical spots, each separated by five rings or 
annulations of the body. Each spot is surrounded by 
an orange border, and a semicircular dash pf the same 
colour like an eyebrow over each. Below the ocelli-like 
spot occurs a lunate black mark, the base of which rests 
on the margin of the foot, which is orange yellow. 

The above description was drawn up from specimens 
obtained from the Axe, near Axmouth, and corresponds 
very nearly with those described by Dr. Johnston. 

Moquin-Tandon has also described it with several varieties. 
I am informed by Mr. Pulleu, who kindly sent me the 
specimens, that they are ** plentiful in the Axe, and that 
two or three persons get their living by catching them. 
They are sent to London in large quantities;" and he 
adds, ** I have medical friends who often use them, or 
rather were in the habit of using them when leeching 
was more in vogue than it is now." The difference 
between the Axe and the foreign leech is, that the Axe 
ones take more slowly, and are more sluggish at their 
work. 

The Eev. Z. Edwards, in litt., says, " When I resided in 
Somersetshire I recollect very well the poor people near 
Somerton took leeches near there, and applied them 
under medical direction, and also sold them to medical 
men." This is probably the same species as described 
above. (?) 

Dr. Johnston says he named this species H, Troctina, from 
its resemblance to the coloured rings or spots on the 
Trout, and also from its being known and sold in shops 
under the name of " trout leech." 

Tribe II. CLEPSINEA, Orube, 
Fam., GLOSSOPORIDiB, Johnston. 
Gen., OL088IPH0VIA, Johnston. 
TESSELLATA, MUll. 

Zool. Dan. Prod. 220; jDo/y/., Pow. Croat 2, t. 4, f. 24-30, p. 38. 

Under leaves of water-lilies, in the river near Bishop's 



220 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

Clist ; also in the Sid, near Sidmouth, under stones and 
amongst JEnteromorpha irUestinalis, within the influence 
of the tide at high water, but rare. The specimens in 
the Clist are much finer and more jelly-like than those 
in the Sid. 

SEXOCULATA, Moq.-Tandon. 

Monog. 364, t. 12; Dalyl., Pow. Great. 2, t. 4, f. 1-16, p. 30; Mont., 
MSS. t. 30, f. 6, p. 256. 

In shallow streams, under stones ; common everjrwhere. 
HETEROCLITA, Linn, 

Systema xii. 1080; Afant., MSS. t. 23, f. 2. {H. alia.) 

Under stones, in Slapton Ley; in a ditch near the Bristol 
and Exeter Eailway Station ; rare. 

When this species is examined with a lens, it will be seen 
to be very rough on the dorsal surface with minute 
irregular asperities. The whole dorsal surface is longi- 
tudinally striated with alternate white and yellow lines ; 
these lines are also distinctly seen from beneath, when 
the animal is in motion in a glass vessel, and also when 
at rest. It is said to be "acephalous,*' but it has certainly 
a head, for when at rest there is an evident contraction, 
which forms a short neck. 

BiocuLATA, Mull. 

Zool. Dan. Prod. 220; Dali/l., Pow. Great. 2, t. 4, f. 17-23, p. 36; Mont., 
MSS. t. 30, f. 3. 

In the Canal, Exeter, and in most slow streams of clear 
water. It varies in colour from a clear greyish-white to 
dotted with minute olive-brown or green dots. Some- 
times it has a rufous tint. It carries its young about 
attached to its abdomen, the same as the above species. 

PURPUREA, Montagu. 

MSS., p. 262, t. 23, f. 4. 

Ovate when quiescent, lanceolate when in motion; of a 
beautiful purple colour, the anterior and posterior ends 
yellowish-white, with a series of white dots round the 
centre of the posterior disk ; eyes seven, placed thus — 
one, then two near together, the others diverging back- 
wards. 

This appears, from Colonel Montagu's figure and descrip- 
tion, to be a very distinct species ; but he does not say 
wliei*e he obtained it ; but I presume in Devon, as it is 
with his other dniwings, which appear to be exclusively 

. animals of Devonshire. 



WITH NOTES AND OBSEKVATIONS. 221 

Ordo lY. SCOLOCEBy Johnston, 

Tribe T. LUMBRICINA, Mac.Leay. 

Fam. I. LUMBRICID-aE, Satigny. 

Obn. J. LUIOSICUS, Linnaua. 

TERRESTRIS, JVillis, 

Linn., Systema, var. B., 1076 ; P«ifi., Brit. Zool. 4, t. 19, f. 6. 

The common earth worm ; abundant everywhere. 

Var. With two lines on the second segment, and striated 
longitudinally between them, but without the transverse 
lines as described by Dr. Johnston. By the side of a 
small stream, under roots of grass, near Exeter. Much 
used for bait by fishermen. 

MINOR, Ray. 

Penn., Brit. Zool. iv. 33, t. 19, f. 6 a. 

In wet gravelly ground, on the sides of rivers, and under 
old decaying confervae ; " Devon," Dr. Leach. Used by 
fishermen on the Exe for bait. The anterior segments 
are iridescent. 

ANATOMicus, Ikiges. 

Ann. des Sci. Nat. (1828), t 9, f. 17-23. 

In damp earth, by the side of drains, in which foetid water 
flows ; at Instow, North Devon. The specimens I have 
had from this locality differ a little from the typical 
form as drawn up by Duges, inasmuch as these had the 
first twelve segments bright flesh-coloured, and the rest, 
next to the clytellus, dirty bluish-gray, like the rest of 
the body, except the three apical segments of the tail, 
which are coloured like the anterior, bright flesh. Setae- 
shaped, like the old Eoman letter / very obtuse at each 
end, and are placed in pairs. This variety appears to 
me to be intermediate between L. minor and anatomicus. 
Length, three inches. It has no smell, and no exudation. 
The intestine and blood-vessel are distinctly seen. 

viRiDis, Ray, 

Hiflt of Inaecta, iii. 

Under old turf, in a damp meadow near Topsham. The 
specimens were about three inches long. 

FCETIDUS, Duges. 

Ann. dea Sci. Nat, aer. 2, viii. t. 1, f. 4, p. 21. 

Common in old dunghills, and by the sides of sewers. Dr. 
Johnston says "there are two abbreviated impressed 
lines on the second segment behind the head ;" it should 



222 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNEUDS OF DEVON, 

be added, oblique lines. There is a thick yellow fluid 
exudes from between the rings of the body when it is 
first taken or disturbed, which has a very strong earthly 
smelL This worm is much esteemed by fishermen. 

TETRAEDRUS, DligeS, 

Aim. des. Sci. Nat., ser. 2, viii. 17-23. 

There is a specimen in the British Museum collection, 
obtained by Dr. Leach in Devon. It appears to be a 
rare species. (?) 

PUTOR, Hoffmeister, 

Ueber Begenu. f. 6 ; Johmt. Cat p. 62. 

Under decaying bark of trees, particularly elms. The 
clytellus is composed of eight or nine segments, but so 
consolidated above as to completely obliterate the rings. 
There are two slight impressions on the post-occipital 
segment, and also the faint indication of a ring on each 
of the anterior segments, the rest very faintly dimidiate, 
and the whole longitudinally striated. Length, two inches ; 
colour, a vinous red. 

Obn., TUBIFSX, Lamarck, 
FreahynXer. 

BivuLORUM, Lam. 

Anim. Sans Vert, edit (1816), p. 224, y. iiL 

La shallow ditches and ponds with muddy bottoms. Abun- 
dant in a horse-pond near Whipton. They construct 
themselves tubes of the particles of mud, and from the 
top of these, which stand up about an inch above the 
surface of the muddy bottom, these little scarlet worms 
may be seen on summer evenings waving themselves to 
and fro in the water, but on the least disturbance they 
shrink into their tubes. 

VARIEGATUS, Miill. 

Zool. Dan. Prod. 2604 ; Mont. MSS. (N. ligulata.) 

Taken near Kingsbridge (?) ; Col. Montagu. This species 
ought to be separated from this genus, — the peculiar 
lobed dorsal vessel separates it at once. 

Marine. 

LINEATA, Oruhe. 

Mull., Zool. Dan., t 80, f. 1-4. 

Amongst fuci and corallines, on the south coast; Col. 
Montagu. 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 223 

BILINEATA, Montogu, 

MSS. p. 126, 3. 

" Flesh-coloured, with very distinct annulatious alternately 
furnished with fasciculi, two red lines running down its 
back ; the anterior end purplish, and slightly iridescent. 
When irritated it turns its lips outward, the upper part 
of the head is then seen to project like a proboscis; 
from this it discharges a red fluid. Length, from four to 
ten inches ; size of a crow quill. Coast of Devon." 

PELLUCIDUS, Mont 
MSS. p. 126, 4. 

" Pellucid, subgellatinous, showing distinctly the intestinal 
canal ; anterior opaque-white, with some blood-coloured 
patches ; bristles inconspicuous. On the sides are some 
transverse marks like branchial openings. Length, from 
five to six inches ; size of a crow quilL Coast of Devon ; 
rare." 

"This species is very delicate, and diflBcult to procure 
entire; it is occasionally knotted and variously con- 
torted. The intestine appears to be filled with sand and 
minute fragments of shells." 

Obs. I have placed two species described by Colonel 
Montagu that appear to me to belong here, but I have 
not seen the species myself, and therefore cannot be 
ceitain, it will therefore be understood that they are 
placed here provisionally. They appear to be very 
nearly related to the next genus, particularly as regards 
the elongated or conical anterior portion of the head. 

Gem., CLUELLIO, Savigny. 
ABENABIUS, Miill 

Zool. Dan. Prod. 2614; Moni, MSS. p. 113. 

At the roots of corallines occasionally, on the south coast. 

Oen., valla, JohmUm. 
CILIATA, Miill. 

Verm. i. ii. 30; Johmt, Cat. p. 67 (wood cut) ; M<mt, MSS. t 10, f. 2, 
p. iii. {PMttiuB eanaria.) 

Taken beneath sand at low water at the mouth of the 
Avon. (Montagu.) 

Gbn., 8TTLABIA, Lamarck, 

LACUSTRis, Linn. 

Syatema Nat, 1085 ; Dalzl., Pow. Great. 2, t 17, f. 6, 7. 

Amongst the roots of aquatic plants in ponds and ditches; 
very common in the Canal, Exeter. It is an exceed- 



224 



A CATALOGUE OF THB ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 



ingly active worm, and keeps constantly whipping th 
water with its long proboscis-like appendage. Th 
spinets are long, and curved like the Eonian letter j 
with a bulging out a little below the middle. Dr. John 
ston says they are " forked," but this I did not observe 
This species increases by division of its body. 

Obn., 8ERFEHT1JIA, Oertted. 
QUADRI8TRUTA, Oersted. 

TempleUm^ in Loudon's Mag. Nat. History, vii., f. 26, p. 130. 

To Dr. Johnston's description must be added : Head whei 
seen from above slightly emaiginate, with a protusili 
fiesophagus, set with very fine hairs or setae, directec 
backwards. The superior bristles are, as Dr. Johnstoi 
says, subulate, and add to this the base flattened an( 
divided into five or six teeth, indeed pectinated. Th( 
superior bundles each with two long bristles. I believ< 
I am right in referring the animal I have in view U 
this species ; at the same time I do not feel quite certain 
The habits of the animal differ from that, inasmuch a 
it is found, burrowing in gravel and imder stones, by th( 
side of the Exe, just on the margin of the water, anc 
where it is also frequently covered by the water for lonj 
periods together. It grows to three inches in length. 

Gen., CHCETOOASTEB, Batr, 
VERMICULARIS, Miill 

Verm, i ii. 20; John»t. Cat. p. 71. 

Amongst Lemnae, &c., in a pond near the South Westen 
Railway, in the footpath fields leading to Stoke Hill, am 
Exminster marshes, but it does not appear to be common 
It has a double wavy intestine, one part of which rum 
down each side of the body, and coalesces near the pos 
terior end. There are ten transverse striae between eacl 
bundle or fascicle of spinets. The spines, curved anc 
directed backwards, furcate at the end. When at res 
the worm generally remains coiled up. 

Ordo v. GYMNOCOPA, Orube, 

Fam. I. TOMOPTERID^, Orube. 

Gen., TOMOPTEBIS, Eack»ekoltz. 

ONISCIFORMIS, Orube, (Johnstonella Catharina, Gosse.) 

Ramb. on Devon Coaat, p. 356, pi. 25, and T believe Sir J, DalyeW 
Nereis. Phasma. to be the same, Pow. Great, t 36, f. 16, p. 260. 

Taken by Mr. Gosse off the harbour at Ilfracombe ir 
August. Dr. Johnston has given Johmtondla Catharine 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 225 

as a synonym of onisci/ormis in the arrangement of the 
species ; but in the text he says there is no doubt but it 
is a synonym of T, scolopendrina, as the latter has been 
taken in Dublin Bay by Dr. Corrigan. 

Ord0 VI. ANNELIDE8, Ik Qmtrrfaget, 

Tribe I. EAPACIA, QtMbe, 
Fam. I. APHRODITACK£, JohmUm, 
Oen. I. APHBODITA, Leach. 
ACULEATA, Linn, 

Penn. Brit. Zool. iy. p. 23, f. 26. JohmU Cat t. 9, p. 101. 

Common all around the coast; frequently cast up by 
storms. 

Fam,, POLYNOID-B, Baird. 
Gbn., LEPIDOV0TU8, Lsach, 
8QUAMATU8, Litm, 

Penn. Brit Zool. iv. 44, t 23, fl 26. MotU. MSS. t 10, f. 6. 

Dredged ofif Salcombe, in the coralline region, frequent 

CLAYA, Montagu, 

Lmn, Trans. 9, t 7, £ 3, p. 108. MSS. t 16, f. 1. 

Common on most parts of the coast. 

SPECIES INQUIBENDJB. 
LEPIDOVOTUS. 
UIRTA, Montagu, 

MSS. t 44, f. 8, p. 49. 

" Annulations about sixty, sides slightly covered with 
down, yellowish, scales numerous, peduncles and fasci- 
culi short. Length, half an inch. Inhabits holes in old 
oyster shells, coast of Devon." 

Observe : In the drawing, this species is linear and slightly 
narrowed towards each extremity, with a pair of scales 
on each segment, yellowish, and very faintly dotted 
with a darker shade. 

ROSEA, Montagu, 

MSS. t 16, f. 3, 4, p. 46. 

" Oblong, flesh colour, with 20 pair of scales spotted with 
brown; body with about 40 annulations; the fasciculi 
of the pedimcles straw yellow, with small cirri between ; 
tentacles four; anal appendages two. The flesh colour 
of the body is most evident beneath, a line of the same 
colour down the back, where the scales rarely meet. 
Length, one inch and a quarter. Coast of Devon ; rare." 

VOL. II. Q 






226 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

SANGUILINEATA, Montogu. 
MS8. p. 47. 

"Body covered with numerous smooth yellowish scale 
peduncles furnished with fascicles of bristles ; annul 
tions numerous; two sets of bristles on the pedunch 
one of which reflects and forms a margin along each si< 
of the animal; beneath, highly resplendent, having 
bright crimson line along the middle ; length, one inc 
Foimd in worm holes of large oyster shells. Coast 
Devon; rara" 

Gen., AHTIHOE, Kinberg, 
IMPAB, Johnston, 

Ann. Nat. Hist. ii. t. 22, f. 3-9, p. 486. Cat. of Worms, t 8, f. 3. 

Capstone Eock, North Devon. (P. H. Gosse.) Salcoml 
dredged in coralline region, frequent 

PHARETEATU8, (?) Johnston. 

The animal I have in view I believe to be the young 
this species. The head and antennae are the same 
the type, and the spines also; but the scales or elyt 
differ in being roughly reticulated, the reticulatioi 
coloured reddish, and round the outer part the seal 
are set with strong, coarse short spines, forming tv 
irregular rows. The margin for about three parts roui 
each scale is rather thickly set with what appears 
first gland-tipped hairs, but they are really gland-tipp( 
or knobbed spines, alternating long and short; ai 
each scale is marked with a conspicuous black S in tl 
centre. This mark also appears under each scale < 
the animal's back after the scales are removed, whi( 
renders it very conspicuous. Scales very deciduoi; 
Length, eight lines. Body composed of 38 somites, ai 
having 15 pair of scales. Taken between tide mar 
between Exmouth and B. Salterton, January, 1867. 

SEMISCULPTUS, Lcdch. 
In Brit Mus. Coll. 

Taken on the South coast by J. Cranch. This appears 
be a rare speciea 

IMBRICATU8, Linn. 

Montagu in Linn. Trans, xi., t. 4, f. I, p. 18. MSS. t 10, f. 4. 

South coast of Devon. 



7 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 227 

PELLUCIDUS, F, D, Dyster, 

Johmt, Cat. p. 117. M<mt. MSS. p. 49. {A, lutea.) 

From CoL Montagu's description as quoted above, I be- 
lieve that he had the same animal in view as described 
by Mr. Dyster. 

Obn., HABXOTHOl, KmUr^, 
CIBRATA, Fah. 

Faun. Grunland, t. 7, p. 308. Dalyl., Pow. Great ii. 166, t. 24, f. 8. 

Taken in Anstey's Cove, Torbay. P. H. Gosse, in " Good 
Words," South coast. Col. Montagu has figured and 
described a form he calls A. verrucosus (A, lepidota), 
Pallas, and which he quotes as synonymous with his 
species. But I am inclined, with Dr. Johnston, to con- 
sider the latter as a variety only of drraia. 

Gen., POLTHOS, OertUd. 

SCOLOPENDRINA, Savignv. 

Johmt. y in Ann. Nat Hist v., t 5, p. 307, and Cat Wormi, t zi., 
p. 119, 21. ifon^. MSS. t 56. 

Colonel Montagu has figured what I consider the young 
of this fine species. Body, anterior half pale purple, 
with three transverse fascia about the middle, the colour 
fading away to dull yellowish at the posterior extremity, 
each joint provided with a cirrus and a bundle of yellow 
hairs or bristles. The anterior half provided with six 
pair of obcordate elytra, not meeting on the back ; the 
broad end of the scales slightly emai^nate, and with a 
depression in the centre ; head, flesh coloured, not con- 
cealed by the eljrtra (probably rubbed off), depressed in 
front; eyes black, remote, placed far back on the occiput ; 
antennae two, stout, yellowish. The head is also armed 
with seven clavate, bulbous, apiculate bristles, placed 
three in front, and two on each side, whitish. In form 
they are like those found on ffarrnothoe cirrcUa. Indeed, 
the animal appears so intermediate between the genus 
Folynoe and Hannotfioe, that I am not sure that I have 
placed it in its right position. (?) Length, about one and 
a half inches ; diameter in its widest part, about three 
lines. 

Fam,, SIOALIONIDJB, Jokmt^ 
OxN., 8IOAU0V, Audot$k$. 
BOA, Johnston. 

In Loud. Mag. Nat Hiat vL, t 42, p. 322. Cat Wonni, p. 124. 
Mont MSS. t 19, f. 1, p. HI.* PatithiB species. (?) 

Exmouth, between tide marks; very rare; the elytra are 
rough, with minute black points. CoL Montagu says it 
inhabits muddy sand at the mouths of tidal rivers. 
q2 



*\i 



228 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

/•am., ECJNIC-E, Cuvier. 
Gen., ETTNICE, Schweig. 
SANGUINEA, MorUogu. 

Linn. Tra-B. xi., t. 3, f. 1-3, p. 20. MSS. t 6, f. 1 a, p. 104. 

South coast of Devon, Col. Montagu. But he does n 
say when he obtained it This fine species was al 
found by Dr. Leach on our South coast 

Gen., HOBTEIA, Johnston, 

TUBICOLA, Midler. 

Johnst.f in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist, zvi., f. 6, et Cat Worms, p. 136-; 
Mont. MSS. t 51,* f. 4. 

South coast of Devon. Plymouth Sound, C. Prideau 
To Dr. Johnston's description must be added a brig 
red interrupted line down its back. 

CONCHYLEGA, Sars. 

Montagu, Test. Brit. v. 2, p. 555. {Sabella.) 

"This animal makes a short, broad, and extremely fl 
tube, composed of large pieces or fragments of fl 
bivalve shells, chiefly of the Pecten genus. These a 
laid without order, but sometimes cover each other 
the edges, and invariably placed with the concave si( 
inwards, which leaves a narrow perforation." 

This description is excellent, as I can testify, having hi 
several of the tubes dredged up on Pecten maxirmts \ 
our South coast. 

Gen., LTCIDICE, Savigny. 
NINETTA, Aud. and M. Edw. 

Litt. de la France, ii., t 3 b, f. 1-8, p. 181. Johntt. Cat p. 140. 

South coast of Devon, Col. Montagu. 
EUFA, Gosse. 

Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist, ser. 2, vol. xii. p. 385. 

Dredged on an oyster off Lee, near Ilfracombe. P. \ 
Gosse. 

Gen., LUMBBIKEBIS, BlainviUe. 

\ IRICOLOK, Montagu, tricolor, (?) Leach. (?) 

Mont. MSS. t 32, f. 3, p. 93. Linn. Trans, vii. p. 82. 

In studying the descriptions of N. tricolor of Leach ai 
the N. tricolor of Montagu, witli the advantage of t 
latter 8 figures in the manuscript as quoted above, I a 
led to believe that the supposed two species are but oi 
and that one the N. iricolor of Montagu, as 1 belie 
this name has the precedence. Col. Montagu's papi 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 229 

in which this was described, was read to the Linnean 
Society, December 7th, 1802. The most important 
difference in the description of iricolor and the figure in 
the folio of drawings is, the latter has four black eyes 
placed transversely at the base of the head. Taken 
on the South coast of Devon. Col. Montagu and 
J. Cranch. 

Fam.y NEREIDS, Lamareh, 
6bn., HEBEI8, LmruBut. 
BREVIMANA, Johnston. 

Ann. Mag. Nat Hist. v. p. 170. Cat. Worms, 147. 
Taken at Plymouth. 

PELAGICA, Linn. 

Johmt., Ann. Nat. Hiat v. p. 172, f. 3, 4. Mmt, MSS. t. 2, f. 4. 

On all our shores, from low-water mark up to muddy 
patches in brackish water, and where they are frequently 
subject to be overflowed by fresh water, as well as 
exposed to heavy rains. This species appears to be the 
most hardy, and exposed to greater variations of tem- 
perature, &c., than any inhabiting our shores. It forms 
a sort of temporary tube of the mucous which exudes 
from iis body, and agglutinated masses of mud. Above 
Topsham, in what is termed the " flats," a large space of 
mud overflowed by the tide, this species is numerous, 
inhabiting holes, where occasionally they come up to 
look out when the tide is out. At this time they must 
be approached very stealthily, as they see you in an 
instant, and shrink back again into their holes. Dr. 
Johnston appeared to be somewhat in doubt as to the 
number of teeth in each jaw. I have foimd them to be 
ten, and he calls them "obtuse." I should say they 
were acute; but age may have something to do with 
this. (?) 

CCERULEA, Linn. 

Penn. Brit. Zool. iy., t. 25, f. 32, 33, p. 47. {N. Margarita.) Mont., 
Linn. Trans, yii. p. 83, et MSS. p. 83. 

South coast of Devon, Col. Montagu ; and P. H. Gosse, in 
"Good Words," 1864. 

PULSATORIA, Moniagn. 

Milne Edw. et Aud. Litt de la France, ii., t. 4, f. 8-13, p. 194. MSS., 
t. 8, f. 2, p. 102. 

"The pulsations, as observed by Col. Montagu, occur about 
eight in ten seconds, and appear to flow from the pos- 



230 



A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 



tenor towards the anterior end in a sort of wave-lil 
motion, and seemed more intense here and there alor 
the dorsal Una In spirits the animal turns to pa 
bronze colour." 
Coast of Devon, under stones ; not uncommon. 

FIMBRL/ITA, Miill. 

MuU., Wurm. 144, t. 8. JohntL, Cat p. 156. 

Exmouth, imder stones, between tide marks ; rare. (?) 



Obn., HERSILEPA8, Oersted. 

FUCATA, Saviffny. 

JohneUy in Ana. Nat. Hist iii., t 6, f. 1, p. 296. Mont. MSS. t t 
f. 2 {Nereie ferrug%noMa\}^), and also t 61,» p. 98. {N. eoehUata. [i 
Oiteeef in Aquarium, p. 164. 

Dredged at Torcross by CoL MontagiL Taken in Norl 
Devon, P. H. Gk)sse. The single interrupted line 
pure white along the dorsal surface is like the shadowii 
forth of a vertebral column. A variety, or what I b 
lieve to be a variety, of this species is figured by C< 
Montagu under the name of N. cochleata. The colo 
of the specimen was livid green. At the second anteri 
joint a white line divides and forms two as far as betwe< 
the 20th and 30th segment, where it fades, and is near 
lost; but it appears again very conspicuous near tl 
posterior end. The same writer remarks respecting tl 
variety, " The habits of the animal appear to be whol 
confined to old univalve shells ; and what is remarkaK 
it is only found in those which have been taken posse 
sion of by hermit crabs, and are always found coiled i 
close to the apex. At Torcross and other parts of t! 
Devonshire coast, we have observed that the uuival 
shells of all descriptions, Stromhm Pes-pelicanus excepts 
are inhabited by the hermit crab, and that two-thirds 
least are inhabited by this (worm) ; and, what is exti 
ordinary, in no instance have we known this Nereis 
inhabit a shell destitute of the crab, nor have we ev 
taken it in any other situation. Tlie largest are tak* 
in Buccin^m undatum. Length, six to seven inches. 

Gfn , K3TEE0NEBEI8, Oersted. 
LOBULATA, Saviyiiy. 

Aud. and M. Edw., Litt de la France ii., p. 191, t 4 a, f. 7, 8. 

Taken at Plymouth ; Dr. Leach. 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 231 

RENALIS, JohnsL 

Williamny Brit. Ass. Rept, 1861, t. 4, f. 14, p. 197. Mont. MSS. t. 29, 
f. 1, 2. (,N. bipinnata. [?]) 

What I believe to be a variety of this species is figured 
by CoL Montagu as quoted above. The body has about 
120 segments, and the anterior as far as the 42nd pale 
olive green, from this to the apex of the tail bright rosy 
red, the feet lobes pale. Length, four to five inches. 
Coast of Devon ; not common. 

LONGISSIMA, Johnst, 

Ann. Nat. Hist. y. p. 178, and Cat. of Wonns, p. 165. 

Plymouth Sound, J. N. Hearder, in Field newspaper, May 
27th, 1865. Mr. Hearder said there were millions of 
them swimming on the surface of the water. 

Fam., NEPHTHYACEuE, Johnaion, 
Gen., HEPHTHTS, Otmer, 
C^CA, Fabric. 

Johmi.f in Loud. Mag. Nat Hist, viii., p. 341, f. 33, and Oat. Worms, 
p. 168. Mont. MSS. t. 8, f. 3, p. 107. 

Taken at Starcross, between tide marks, under stones. 
Col. Montagu says this fine species grows to the length 
of ten or twelve inches ; but I have not met with them 
so large as this. The beautiful mother of pearl colour 
forming two lines along the subdorsal and ventral sur- 
faces is well described by Dr. Johnston. The intermittent 
flow of blood along the dorsal vessel makes it appear as 
if it had a vertical motion, which gives the creature a 
very beautiful appearance in the water. 

LONOISETOSA, Oersted, 

Groenl. Annul. Dorsibr. 43, f. 75, 76. Mont. MSS. t. 61, p. 109. 
(y. bifoicieulata. [?]) 

This species is very much like N, cceca, but the feet lobes 
at once distinguish it. South coast of Devon. 

Gbn., D'OBYULEA, n.g. 
LOBATA, Parfitt 

In Zoologist, 2nd ser., pp. 113, 114; 1866. Ntr$iM pennata, Mont, 
MSS. t. 47, f. 1 A, p. 92. 

Head nearly round, convex, depressed at the sides. Eyes 
four, placed two in front, and two far back on the 
occiput. Tentacles developed into four lobes, two large 
and two smaller, the large ones curved backwards. Body 
gradually and very distinctly tapers from the head back- 
wards; composed of about fifty segments, each joint 



232 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

being very distiDct; convex in the centre, but very 
much depressed at their line of junction with each 
other. Feet lobes obovate, with a bundle of rather short 
stiff bristles. At the base of the broad lobe is a narrow 
linear one, naked. Proboscis similar to Nereis, crimson 
red. 
Body, pale crimson-red and white; the articulations very 
distinct; the anterior tricornuted in front, and nearly 
as wide again as the following, somewhat depressed 
above ; the most convex or actual dorsal surface of each 
articulation has a white transverse line, so that the body 
is alternately banded with white and crimson-red; the 
bundles of bristles in the foot-lobes pale yellow ; length, 
one inch. Coast of Devon ; rare. 

Jbm., PHYLLODOCID-S:, WiUiams. 

6bn., PHYLLODOCE, Cuvier. 

LAMELLIQERA, Turton. 

Johnst., in Ann. Nat. Hist, iy., t. 6, f. 1-6, p. 225. Mont. MSS. t 1, 
f. 1, p. 99. Oosse Ramb. Devon Coast, p. 10. Dal^l. Pow. Great, t 23, 
f. 1-6. {N. ritnex.) 

Found occasionally on the South coast ; it varies consider- 
ably in size, from six inches to two feet in length. 

MACULATA, Linn. 

Johnst., in Ann. Nat Hist, iy., p. 227, f. 1-3. Monty in Linn. Trans. 
Tii., p. 83 {N. /i>ieate[?]), and MSS. t. 19, f. 3, p. 106. 

Inhabit the sand at the mouth of the Avon, Devon. This 
species varies a little in the colour of the spots, they 
being sometimes green, olive-green, or olive-brown. It 
appears to be a very active creature. 

VIRIDIS, lAnn. 

JohMt., Ann. Nat. Hist. iv. 228, t. 6, f. 11-15; 3f(mt. MSS. t. 29, f. 3, 
p. 101; Ooue, in "Good Words." 

This is one of the commonest species on our south coast, 
inhabiting the old tubes of Sabella Anglica; it grows to 
five or six inches in length. Dr. Johnston says, that 
"in dying it does not sepamte and break in pieces." My 
experience is, that it does directly it is placed in spirits, 
and at the same time discharges nearly all its beautiful 
green colouring matter. Dr. Johnston further says : 
"Post occipital segment, with four tentacular cirri on 
each side," &c. Now, those specimens which I have 
examined have but two tentacles on each side on the 
post occipital segment, and two on each side on the next, 
and, as Dr. J. remarks, are half as long again as the an- 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 233 

tenor ones. The eyes are somewhat renifonn, reddish 
brown, and placed far back on the occipital region. 
The spinets are about 24 in each foot, and are very much 
like No. 5, pi. iv., Johnst. Cat. of Worms, but the end or 
movable part is not notched. 

MAEGINATA, OoSSe, 

In "Aquarium," p. 149-AO. 

" Length from three to five inches, according as it is elon- 
gated or contracted ; the body is composed of about 170 
segments, nearly equal in diameter throughout, and 
abruptly rounded at both extremities. The segments are 
bordered by oval puckered leaflets, the colour of which, 
being almost black, with an edging of light yellow-green, 
gives the animal a most beautiful appearance. Dorsal 
surface steel-blue, changing under the play of light to 
purple, with a highly metallic reflection." Taken in 
Torbay, by Professor Kingsley, 

GRIFFITHSII, Dyster. 

JohnsL Cat Worms, p. 180. 

Taken in Torbay, by J. R Griffiths. 
NEBULOSA, Montagu. 

MSS. t. 61, f. 4, p. 106. 

Body depressed, tapering from about one-fourth towards 
each extremity; head small; eyes two ; tentacular cirri 
eight, short; orange-red above and somewhat yellow 
towards the extremities. At the junction of each seg- 
ment are placed transversely six small black dots, and 
on the centre are also placed four more. These occur 
very regularly on every segment. Foliaceous cirri, ovate, 
acute, pale dotted, with black round the margin, and a 
large black dot occupies the tip. Length, four inches. 
Taken at Torcross, by Col. Montagu. 

Obs, This is evidently nearly allied to P. Gfrijlthsiiy and 
perhaps it may prove to be a full-grown specimen of 
that species. (?) 

Gen., PSAMATHE, Johnston. 
PUNCTATA, Mall. 

Zool. Dan. Prod. 2633 ; Johnst. Cat. p. 182; Da/y/., Pow. Creat. ii., t. 21, 
f. 11-13, p. 168; Mont. MSS. t. 38, f. 2, p. 94. (N. fascieularia.) 

Dr. Johnston says: "When mature I find this worm 
attains the length of about one and a half inches.'' But 
Col. Montajju found it between three and four inches in 



234 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

length. The latter observer says the colour — the spec 
mens from which his description was drawn — was alte 
uately marked with yellow and green, the anterior cc 
white. Its mode of progression and description corr 
sponds with Pr. Johnston's in a very marked manner. 

PUSTULATA, Montagu. 

MSS. t 62,* f. 3, p. 111. 

" Pale olive-green; head paler; a series of black dots alor 
each side the dorsal surface ; and for the first tweli 
segments there are two lines diverging from these dot 
forming a lozenge-shaped paler enclosure on the bac! 
Lateral cirri long, pale ; tentacular cirri four, four tim( 
as long as the width of the body. Length, one inch an 
half. Taken off Torcross by dredging." 1813. 

Ohs, This agrees, to a certain extent, with the descriptic 
of a full-grown P. punctata, the greatest difference beii 
the lozenge-shaped marks on its back, and the length < 
the tentacular cirri ; but if we correct the latter, an 
call them the anterior cirri instead of tentacular, tl 
greatest difference will then be the lozenge-shaped marki 
so that I think this can only be regarded as a variety < 
P. punctata. (?) 

Fam., GLYCERACEiE, Oersted. 
Gen., OLTCEBA, Savigny. 

DUBIA, Blainville. 

Griff., Cuvier. xiii., t. 4, f. I ; Mont. MSS. p. 109. 

South coast of Devon ; Mus. Leach. 

ALBA, A at. 

(X. alba.) mil., Zool. Dan. ii. 62, f. 67 ; Gmel, Systema 3119 ; Mot, 
MSS. p. 108. 

Col. Montagu met with this species on our south coast, bi 
sparingly. 

CAPITATA, Oersted. 

Johnst. Cat. of Worms, t. xv., 1. f 110; Mont. MSS. t. 32, f. 1, p. 10 
and t. 36, p. 5. (Very good.) 

South coast, under stones and loose sand ; not common. 

GLYCERA VESICULOSA, Pcirfitt 
Eraaxillary. 

Head cornuted, transversely striate ; sej^nnents biannuhit 
alike ; (i»so])hagus large clavate, divided into two ui 
equal portions, — the aj)ical somewhat globose or pyr 
form, the larger longitudinally striate, internally showin 



WA J- 



WITH NOTES AND OBSEfiVATIONS. 235 

the dark striae through the skin. Setiferous lobes or 
feet very numerous, divided mostly into four unequal 
triangular lobules, the base of each foot with a small 
papillae on the superior side; each foot has near its 
centre a conspicuous globose vesicle on the anterior 
side. Length, two (?) feet; oesophagus, sixteen lines; 
breadth, four lines. 

Worm subcylindrical, equally convex on both surfaces; 
the general- facie& is that of ff. dvMa, nearly equal in 
size throughout. Colour, pale rosy-red, with a pearly 
lustre, and with a deep red doi'sal and ventral line. 
Feet, pale yellow, small in front, gradually growing 
larger backwards for the first three or four inches ; from 
this they are nearly of the same size. Each foot is 
divided into three or four unequal triangular lobules, 
the anterior into three, the inferior lobule very inferiorly 
developed. On the edge of this, near the apex, is an 
elliptical pale brown homy-looking spot (branchia [?]), 
the two middle lobes being the largest. Bristles, pcde 
yellowish, divided into three bundles, the inferior rather 
short and entire, the rest compound, those of the supe- 
rior bundle being the longest, with sharp scimitar- 
shaped apices fitted into a cleft at the apex of the shaft; 
the edges of the scimitar finely seiTated, the rest of the 
bristles smooth. The apices of the other compound 
bristles are not so acute or so long, but are also serrated. 
Each foot has two stout smooth spines, projecting but 
little beyond the lobes of the foot. Near the middle of 
each foot in front is a bright scarlet globose vesicle, 
smaller in front, but gradually growing larger with the 
size of the feet. (Esophagus clavate, smooth, and with- 
out hooks or spines. 

In spirits the animal turns to a French-white colour, with 
a faint tinge of flesh; the oesophagus dirty white, or 
pale stone colour. 

This appears to be a very distinct species. The pale 
yellow feet, each with a bright scarlet globule in front, 
gives to this worm a very beautiful and remarkable 
appearance ; it looks as if set with rows of bright coral 
beads. To hazard an opinion what these vesicles are 
for, I think the blood is aerated therein. The only 
specimen I have seen of this species was cast into a 
tide-pool in a storm on our south coast, at Exmouth, 
in January last, and, I am sorry to say, it got injured ; 
for I could find only a part of it, about a foot in length ; 



236 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

but, from the size and regularity of its growth, I con- 
sider it must have been at least a foot longer. After 
exhausting all my references, I forwarded the specimen 
to my friend, Dr. Baird, of the British Museum, who 
kindly compared it with the specimens in the collection, 
and be says, ''Were it not for the globular-looking 
appendages on the feet, I should have no hesitation in 
referring it to O, dvbia,** But I may here observe that 
dubia l^longs to the section with jaws, if BlainvUle's 
be the typa This certainly difiers from that in not 
having those appendages; and Dr. Johnston says tibat 
his specimens had no jaws, so that there axe probablj 
two species involved, if they had both attained to their 
full development But in either case the remarkable 
globular appendages attached to the feet of this species 
must have caught the eye of any naturalist, either in a 
recent or in a preserved state ; so that I stiU look upon 
this as quite distinct from either of the above species. 

Fam., SYLLIDiE, Ornie! 
Obn., 8TLLIB, Savigny, 
ABBULLARIS, MUU, 

Wurm.l60,t9,f.l-6; Hofit. MSS. 1 88, p. 1, p. 96. {N. 9eelnpmifid$i.) 

The above is a very good name for this species. I wish it 
could have been retained, for the movements of the 
creature in the water is very much like a scolopendra. 
South coast of Devon. 

C0BNUTA,(?) -fir. RcUhke, (N.BILOBATA, Montogu,) 

" Body compressed, olive-green, with numerous articulations 

and projecting peduncules, furnished with short fasciculi 

and long filiform cirri, equal in length to the diameter 

of the body. Length, one inch." 

Var. With more slender body and longer fasciculi, on 

Pecten maximum. Coast of Devon. 
Obs. I do not feel quite sure that this species is rightly 
referred, as I have not seen specimens. 

Gen., OATTIOLA, Baird. 
SPECTABILI8, Baird. 

{S. tigrina^) GoBte ; John. Cat xvi., f. 1-7. 

Ilfracombe. 

Gen., MTBIAKIDA, M. Edicards. 

PKNNIGEBA, Mmtagu. 

In Linn. Trans, ix., p. Ill, t. 6, f. 3, and MSS. t. 18, f. 4, p. 92, and 
t. 51,» f. 1. (Young spocimen.) 

South coast of Devon. (Montagu.) 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 237 

Fatn., AMYTIACR^, Johnston. 
Gen., AinrnDEA, Grube. 
MACOLOSA, Montagu. 

In Linn. Trans, xi., t 3, f. 4, p. 21 ; MSS. t. 35, f. 4, p. 96. 

South coast of Devon ; rare. 

Fam., ARICIAD^, Johnston. 
Gen., HEBINE, Johnston. 
MONTAGUI, Parfitt. 

Fasitha trilineata, Mont. MSS. t. 19, f. 1, a b c p. 111.* 

Worm from four to five inches long, and about an eighth 
of an inch in diameter, rather flattened dorsally. Head 
conical, white ; antennse very long, placed close together 
at the base of the head above ; the sides furnished with 
two series of fascicles, accompanied with slender bran- 
chial appendages above, inclining upwards and meeting 
in the back ; colour, purplish bronze, margined at the 
base with white; body pea-green, with a purple line 
down the back, beneath, with two pale contiguous lines 
separated by a darker one. 

Found beneath sand at low water at the mouth of the 
Avon, Devon. (Montagu.) 

Obs. I am not quite sure that this is not the young of 
N. coniocephcUa, as it comes nearer to that species than 
to any other with whose description I am acquainted, 
and therefore name it provisionally. 

CONTORTA, Dalyell 

Pow. Great, ii., t. 20, f. 19, 20, p. 166. 

Body pale greenish-blue, reflecting in certain lights like 
mother of pearl ; annulations about sixty, each pro- 
vided with two broad very thin branchial lobes, and 
four bundles of bristles. The lateral bundle is com- 
posed of six spines — five long and one short; in the 
sub-dorsal bundles, which are also composed of six 
spines, four spatulate and two long setaj. These latter 
converge upwards over the back in a flabellate form, 
when the animal is in motion, from about the middle 
of the w^orm backwards. The bundles are placed some- 
what obliquely, particularly the lateral ones. Head 
conical and transversely striated ; the interstice between 
the striae somewhat rounded; the whole more or less 
setose. Eyes four, black ; two lunate, and one single 
dot-like one placed behind the luna near its apex. 
They are seated just in front of the antennae, at their 
base. Antennae very long, cui-ved backwards, stout. 



238 A CATALOGUE OP THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

smooth on the back, the front rough with minute 
papillae. (Esophagus thin and flexible, appearing life 
a piece of wet bladder. This is being constantly pushed 
out and again drawn in, somewhat like the finger of c 
glove. The dorsal vessel, which is very conspicuous, Li 
divided at its anterior extremity into two forks. Length 
half-an-inch. I met with the only specimen I have 
seen in a tube of Sdbella Anglica, at Exmouth, Septem- 
ber 20th, 1865. This worm swims freely, with a lateral 
serpentine motion, bending itself into the form of the 
letter S; the curious spatulate spinets appear to be 
then employed in preventing its backward motior 
through the water, as they are at this time spread ouj 
like little fans. Dr. Johnston has figured (t. iil, f. 3*) 8 
spinet very much like these ; but he does not say fron 
what this was obtained. 

Gen., 6PI0, Turi<m. 
CRENATICORNIS, Montagu. 

In Linn. Traua. xi., t. 14, f. 6, p. 199, and MSS. t 49, f. 1 a, p. 63. 

Coast of Devon. (Montagu.) 

Gen., CnOLATULUB, Zamarek. 

TENTACULATU8, Montagu. 

In Linn. Trans, ix., t. 6, f. 2, p. 110, and MSS. t. 5, f. 3. 
Under stones, and in holes made by boring molluscs oi 
the South coast ; not common. 

BOREALIS, Lam. 

Dalyl., Pow. Great, ii., t 18, f. 1-4, p. 133. Johnat. Cat. p. 210, woodcut 

Under stones, between tide marks, where the shore ii 
muddy. 

Fam., TELETHUS^, Savigny. 
Gen., ABENICOLA, Savigny. 

PiscATORUM, Lam. 

Pen. Brit. Zool. iv., t. 19, f. 7, p. 34. Dalyl, Pow. Great, t. 19, f. 1-3 
p. 138. 

Common on all our sandy shores between tide marks. 
BRANCHIALIS, Avd. and M. Edw. 

Litt. do la France ii., t. 8, f. 13, p. 257. Mont. MSS, t. 28, f. 2, p. 120 
{A. ecerulea.) Gosse^ Rarab. Devon. Coast, p. 172. 

Found at low-water mark, under stones, in rocky places 
Smallmouth, N. Devon. P. H. Gosse. 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 239 

KCAUDATA, JohtlSt. 

Mont. MSS. t. 44, f. 4. {A. congeMiieia,) Dalyl., Pow. Great t. 19, f. 4, 6. 

Although the figure and description given by Col. Montagu 
do not exactly agree with Dr. Johnston, I am still in- 
clined to think they both had the same species in view. 
The greatest difference in Montagu's specimen being, 
that it only contained eleven pair of branchiae, and 
where these are placed the animal is pale red, all the 
rest of the body being greenish-olive. Length, five inches. 
South coast 

Fam., MALBANIJS, Savigny, 
6bn., CLTMEirE, Savigny. 

BOREALis, DcUyeU. 

Pow. Great, ii, t 36, f. 5, 265. MonU MSS. t 31, f. 1, p. 131. 
( Thalassema campanulata.) 

This curious creature varies a good deal in colour as well 
as in size. Mr. Walker dredged specimens for me in the 
coralline zone oflF Torbay of a beautiful lemon-yellow 
colour, tinted with rusty red along the anterior and 
posterior extremities, and particularly round the pos- 
terior, where it forms a ferrugineous ring just below the 
teeth of the orifice. These teeth are very much cut or 
laciniated. In those specimens I have obtained at 
extreme low -water mark near Exmouth, and which 
correspond with the typical formula of Sir J. Dalyell, 
and also with one figured and described by CoL Montagu, 
the colour and organization are the same, and the posterior 
fimbria not so much cut It is of a pale or dull flesh-colour. 
These burrow, or rather form perpendicular tubes in 
the sand. Their position is indicated by smooth rounded 
hillocks ; not like those formed by the litg worm, but 
broad and smooth, and only found, so far as my expe- 
rience goes, at exti-eme low-water mark. Specimens are 
extremely difficult to obtain entire. 

Fam., TEREBELLID^, Johnston. 
Grn., TEBEBELLA, Montagu 
CONCHILEGA, PalUxS. 

Penn. Brit Zool. t 26, lower fig. on the right 

South coast of Devon ; not common. 

CHRYSODON, Linn. 

Edit xii., p. 1269, n. 813. Mart et Chem. t. 4, f. 29, 30. DtUyl., Pow. 
Great ii., t 26, f. 3-8. 

Exmouth, between tide marks, abundant. Ilfracombe, 
Dr. Gray. I have restored Uie limiean name to this 






I ■'*»■ 



^l'^-' 



240 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 

beautiful though common species, and the name, 
think, is veiy rightly applied, as the animal is of 
golden yellow. 

CIRRATA, M(ynt. 

In Linn. Trans, zii., t. 12, f. 1, p. 342, and MSS. t. 28, f. 1, and t. 8, f 

Gregarious, and not uncommon on our South Devon coa 
(Montagu.) 

NEBULOSA, Montagu. 

Linn. Trans, xii., t. 12, f. 2, and MSS. t. 39, f. 1, p. 70. 

This is one of the most beautiful of the whole tribe ; 
inhabits a soft slimy case, coated with gravel ai 
broken shells, and appears to live only in deep watf 
South coast ; rare. 

GIGANTEA, Montogu. 

Linn. Trans, xii., t. 11, p. 341, and MSS. t. 20, f. 2, p. 67. 

The specimen from which the drawing was made w 
taken by digging at low water in the estuary at King 
bridge. It appears to be very rare. 

CONSTRICTOR, Montogu. 

Linn. Trans, xii., t. 13, f. 1, p. 343, and MSS. t. 35, f. 3, p. 69. 2>a/j 
Pow. Great, ii., t 27, f. 1, 2, p. 191. 

Coast of Devon ; rare. (Montagu.) 
VENUSTULA, Montagu, 

Linn. Trans, xii., t. 13, f. 2, and MSS. t. 52,* f. 4. 

This is a most distinct and elegant species, of an orang 
red colour, thickly dotted wuth pure white dots, 
inhabits old shells in the coralline zone off the Soul 
coast. 

Gen., VENUSIA, Johnston. 

PUNCTATA, Johnstmi. 

Dalt/L, Pow. Great, ii., t. 28, f. 5-8, p. 199. 

The tubes of this species are of frequent occurrence c 
old shells, &c., dredged in 30 to 40 fathoms, off tl 
South coast. * 

Var. PULCHELLA. 

Phenacia ptdchella. Par fitly in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 18, 3rd scr., pi. 

I am now inclined to regard the above as a variety 
V. punctata, with the branchial tufts consolidated in 
one mass at the base. Found at Exmouth ; cast up 1 
the waves during a stonn, January 6th, 1866. 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 241 

Fam., AMPHITRITE, Mull, 1771. 
6£N., PECTIKASIA, Lam,, 1812. 

BELGICA, Fallas, 

Mart, et Chem. xU., t. 4, f. 26, 27. Dalyl., Pow. Great, ii., t. 25, f. 6-8. 

Dredged off Teignmouth, August, 1866. Tlie tubes are 
frequently cast ashoi-e in the estuaiy of the Exe during 
storms. It appears to live on our coast in from fifteen 
to twenty fathoms water. 



Fam,, SABELLAKIAD^, Johnston. 
Obn., 6ABSLLABIA, Lam. 
ANGLICA, Ellis. 

Corallinea t 30, p. 90. Do/y/., Pow. Great, t, 26, f. 1-3. (Animal only.) 
On sandstone rocks, between tide marks, Exmouth, Daw- 
lish, &c., covering large tracts with their alveolar masses 
of tubes. Dr. Johnston must have had some other 
species in view when he made the sketches imprinted 
on page 250 ; for the figures of the palae do not agree 
either with those figured by Ellis as quoted above, or 
with specimens found by myself on this coast. The 
dactyles or finger-like processes at the apical or outer 
end of the palae in Dr. Johnston's are straight, and 
formed something like the fingers of the hand ; whereas 
in Ellis's specimens, and also my own, they are curved 
to one side, with the outside finger the longest, as well 
as largest; so that we have here the typical form as 
established by Ellis. 

GRASSISSIMA, Lam. 

Penn. Brit. Zool. iv., p. 147, t. 92, f. 162, edit 1812. Mont., Brit. 
Test., p. 640, and said by him to be found between tide marks to the 
west of Teignmouth. 

There appears to me to be some confusion between these two 
species, if there be not a third involved in it; for the 
references given by Johnston refer to Pennant's figure 
for this species ; but I cannot see any difference in the 
form of the tubes from the former species. But the 
figure of the palae given by Johnston, No. xliv., is cer- 
tainly distinct, and is a species which I have never seen. 
There is also a reference given for this in Mont. Brit. 
Testacea, as quoted above ; but he does not distinguish 
this from Anglica, and he there gives the locality to the 
west of Teignmouth, where it does not now exist, so 
that I cannot clear up the species. 

VOL. II. R 



242 



A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON, 



LUMBRiCALis, Montogu. 

Teat. Brit., p. 649. 

On old oyster shells, from the coralline region, oflF o 
South coast ; common. 

Fam., SERPULID-E, Johnston, 
Gen., ABIFPA8A, Johnston. 
INFUNDIBULUM, MoTVtagu, 

In Linn. Trana. ix., t. 8, p. 109, and MSS. t. 20,* p. 76. 

Found partly buried beneath the mud, leaving about i 
inch above the surface, in the estuary at Kingsbrid^ 
and at Salcombe; Montagu, Cranch, and Dr. Leac 
And I have had what I believe to be the tube of ii 
species dredged off the ScaUop bank, on the South coa 
of Devon. 

Gem., 8ABELLA, Savigny. 

PENICILLU8, Linn, 

Mont, MSS. t. 19, p. SS. Dalyl., Pow. Great t. 30. {Amphitt 
ventilabrum.) 

Montagu's is a beautiful figure of this el^ant speci< 
Found in considerable numbers in the estuary at Kinj 
bridge, in tubes exceeding a foot in length. 

VESICULOSA, Montagu. 

In Linn. Trans, zi., t. 6, f. 1, p. 19, and MSS. t. 20,* p. 66. 
A very remarkable and distinct species ; found an o 
South coast by Col. Montagu. 

BOMBYX, Dalijl. 

Pow. Great, ii., t 31, f. 1-7, and t. 32, f. 1-13. Oosse, "A Year at 
Shore," pi. 33, fig. on the right. Mont.y Test. Brit. p. 644. 

Habit the coralline region, South coast. 

CURTA, Montagu. 

Test. Brit p. 664. OoBSSy in *»A Year at the Shore," pi. 33, mid 
figure 3. 

This is a small species, with a tube about an inch loi 
the size of a crow quill, "gi-egarious coverving t 
whole surface of the shore in the inlet near Kin| 
bridge." (Montagu.) 

VOLUTACORNIS, Montagu. 

Linn. Trans, vii., t. 7, f. 10, p. 80, and MSS. t. 11, f. 1, p. 58. 

A single specimen only was obtained by Col. Monta 
by dredging off our South coast. It appears to be 
very rare species. (?) 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 243 

Gen., PEOTULA, Biaso. 

TUBULARIA, Montogu. {P, p7'otensa, Grube.) 

Johmt.j in Loud. Mag. Nat. Hist. tIL f. 28. Mont MSS. t 7, f. 2, p. 59. 
Goa$$, *'A Tear at the Shore," pi. 33, fig. on the left. 

Montagu says, this is the only AmphiirUe hitheolK) dis- 
covered to make a testaceous tube. Inhabits the coast 
of Devon. 

Obs. On referring to CoL Montagu's original drawing of 
this species, there can be no doubt of its being a true 
Protula, entirely destitute of an operculum. 

OEM., 8EBFITLA, Linrunu. 
VERMICXTLABIS, MllS. 

Coral, t 38, f. 2 ; Domwan Brit. Sheila, 8, pi. 95. Upper figure. 
On old shells, from various depths ; common. 
Var. a. Tube solitary, entirely adherent, creeping. Frequent 

on old shells of Pinnce, &c. South coast. 
Var. h. Tubes clustered, partially erect, adherent by the 
smaller end only. See Gosse, in Aquarium, t 5, middle 
figure, on Pecten opercidaris. This form is not very com- 
mon. Exmouth (W. Clarke), Plymouth, Torbay. 

INTRICATA, Linn, 

Systema 1265; MuU, Zool. Dan. iii., t. 86, f. 9; M<mt, Test Brit p. 509. 

On old shells from the coralline region ; frequent 

REVEBSA, Mont 

Test Brit p. 508; FhiUppi in Ann. Mag. Nat Hist xiy., t 8, f. b; 
Johntt. Cat t XX., f. 6, 7. 

On old shells of Pecten apereularis ; dredged oflf the south 

coast. 

CONICA, Flem. 

In Edinb. Phil. Jour, zii 262; FhUipfi in Ann. Mag. Nat Hist ziy., 
t 3, f. F.; Mont, MSS. t 14, f. 1, p. 85. {InfundanOa biterrata,) 

Dredged off the south coast, on Cardium Uevigatum, 

ABMATA, Flem, 

In Edinb. PhiL Jour, xiv., p. 243 ; FhUippi in Ann. Mag. Nat Hist 
xiv. 156, t 3, f. p. {Fotamoe&rta iricuspis.) (?) 

I believe I am right in referring Philippics figure, as 
quoted above, to this species, as far as I am able to 
make it out from his brief description and figure of the 
operculum crown. 

On dead shells of Pinnce, off the south coast in the coralline 
zona 

R 2 



244 



A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNEUDS OF DEVON, 



DY8TEEI, Johnst. 

Cat Worms, p. 272. 

The operculum of this species distinguishes it from 
others. The tube is variable, sometimes having but c 
carina, and in others three. Found on old shells fn 
the coralline zone. 

Gen., FHOOBAHA, Berkley, 
DfPLEXA, Berk, 

In Zool. Joum., 1827, p. 229 ; Balyl. Pow. Great, ii., t. 34, f. l-«, p. 2 

In the coralline region off the south coast; sometin 
growing to a foot in diameter each way. A very elegs 
species.. There is a very fine specimen in the Musei 
at Taunton, dredged off Budleigh Salterton. 

Gen., 8PIB0BBI8, Daudin. 
NAUTILOIDES, Lam, 

Mart et Chem. t 3, f. 21. a.b. 

On Fvxms serratus. Torbay, Exmouth, and Sidmouth. 
Var. a. Donovan Brit. Shells, t. 95, centre figure, and Mi 

et Chem. t. 3, f. 21, c. 
Or, Sertularia ; dredged oflf Torbay. 

SPIRILLUM, Linn. 

Systema. 1264; Mont. Test. Brit. p. 499. 
Sidmouth, on Fuciis serratus, &c. 

gbanulatus, Linn. 

Don. Brit. Shells, iii., f. 100; Mont. Test. Brit p. 600. 

On old shells, especially Arm pilosa. Torbay, Salcom 
&c. ; also on rocks, Torbay. 

corrugatijs, Mayit. 

Test. Brit. p. 602-3. 

On slate rocks. Milton. (Montagu.) 

JiUCIDUS, Mo7lt. 

Test. Brit. p. 506; Adams in Linn. Trans, v., t. 1, p. 31, 32. (Bad.) 

Dredged off Torbay and Teignniouth, on Sci^tularia abicti 
This at first sight has very much the appearance 
a9. nautiloides, but it will be observed that the mouth 
this species is turned to the right, instead of to the L 
as in the above-named species. 

IIETEROSTRDPHUS, Mont. 

Teat. Brit. 503; Browns Illus. t. 1, f. 5.5. 

On old shells and on Fucv.s vesiculosus, in Kingsbridgo I 



WITH NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 245 

in abundance (Montagu), and at Exmouth, on the red 
sandstone rocks, near low- water mark. 

MINTJTUS, Mont, 

Test. Brit p. 606-6. 
On Corallina officinalis ; south coast of Devon. 

SPECIES INQXHREND^. 
Gen., BSAHCHIASIV8, Montagu, 
QUADRANGULARIS, Mont, 

In Linn. Trans, zi., t 14, f. 1, and MSS. t. 31, f. 2, p. 276. 

This animal appears to be nearly related to Pontdbddla, (?) 

Gbn., DXPLOnS, Montagu, 
HYALINA, Mont, 

In Linn. Trans, xi., t. 14, f. 6, p. 203, and MSS. t 17, f. 2. 

With all deference that is due to such a naturalist as CoL 
Montagu, I cannot think that this is a true annelid; 
neither do I think it a fully developed animal "Coast 
of Devon; rare." 

Gbn., VEEEI8. (1) 
DUBIA, Mont, 

MSS. p. 109. 

" Body yellow, with brown bars, with peduncles and fasci- 
culi, and distant filiform appendages along the sides; 
the bars are most conspicuous on the anterior end ; no 
distinct tentacula. Found on oysters." Coast of Devon* 

This is probably Glycera dubia, having lost it antennae. (?) 

pnosPHORiCA, Mont, 

MSS. p. HI. 

"With six slender tentacula and lateral filiform cirri 
Body with between fifty and sixty articulations and 
fasciculate peduncles beneath the cirri ; the tentacula 
are scarcely to be distinguished from the cirri, but being 
rather longer, the posterior end is furnished with two 
setiform appendages; the colour is pale yellow, very 
luminous, and, when agitated, sparkling with phosphoric 
brilliancy: these sparks proceed along the sides like 
electric flashes from joint to joint, or at least is so divided 
as in appearance to be confined to a portion of each 
joint. length, half an inch. Amongst fuci and in per- 
forations in old oyster shells. Coast of Devon." 

This, I think, is nearly related to Syllis vionoceros {Dalyl, 
ii., t 22, f. 9-11, p. 157); but Col. Montagu has not 



I 



246 A CATALOGUE OF THE ANNELIDS OF DEVON. 

stated that the antennae are moniliform, so that 
animal cannot be referred to its proper position. 

APHRODITOIDES, Mont. 
MSS. t. 64, f. 6. 

"With eleven tentacula and two black eyes; the peduB 
furnished with broad scales of an olive-yellow irr^ul 
mottled, with dusky and minutely spotted with whil 

"The broad lateral scales which usually cover the I 
give this the appearance of an AjphrodUa; the I 
beneath the scsdes and the inferior surface are c 
nacoid-blue ; the tentacles are placed, one between 
eyes, two on each side a little lower, very short, and 
others, which are longer, stand oblique behind the ej 
the palpi are small, the posterior end obtuse, termini 
by two short stiles. Length, two inches ; breadth 
ceeds an eighth. Taken by dredging at Torcrosa U 
Very rare.** 

This remarkable animal appears at first sight to beloni 
the genus Polynoe, but this has scale-like processes 
whole length of the body, which at once distinguish^ 
from that genus ; and it has also some relation to 
genus Iphionone (Kinberg), with its frontal tuber 
and it appears also to have some, and rather 8tr< 
relation to SiffUion boa, and it may even be a yo 
specimen of that species. (?) 



J :j 



NOTES ON THE METEOEIC SHOWER OF NOVEMBER, 1866; 

WITH SPBGULATIONS SUaaESTED BY IT. 
BT W. PENGELLTy F.B.8., P.O. 8., ETC. 



It is well-known that astronomers had been for some time 
preparing the public for an unusually brilliant display of 
meteors rather before the middle of November 1866, and 
had succeeded in exciting a large amount of general interest. 

Believing in well-founded scientific predictions, Mr. Vivian 
made arrangements with several other members of the Tor- 
quay Natuml History Society, to meet on the summit of 
Waldon hill at Torquay, for tlie purpose of careful and con- 
tinuous observation during the night of Monday-Tuesday, 
the 12th-13th of the month, and, & necessary or desirable, 
the following night also, — it being not quite certain on which 
of these nights the spectacle would be visible. 

The first night was so cloudy that I thought it useless to 
go, but Mr. Vivian, with one companion, was at his post, 
and caught occasional glimpses of the sky, but saw no 
meteor. This encouraged the hope that the shower would 
arrive on the second night, and put us all on the alert. 

During a considerable portion of the night of the 13th-14th, 
the sky was generally very clear, and, indeed, all but cloud- 
less. A brilliant shooting star was seen as early as six in 
the evening. At eight I took a post of observation near my 
own house, and soon saw a few stars shoot across the sky. 
At eleven they began to be so abundant and beautiful as to 
leave no doubt that the great shower was near at hand ; that 
even objects so apparently fitful and capricious as meteors 
were under the regulation of law, and characterized by 
periodicity. At llh. 28m. a brilliant star became visible a 
few degrees west of the Great Bear, and with rapid flight 
shot almost to the horizon in the south-west. It left a 
beautiful, bright, blue train, which lasted a few seconds, and 
gradually faded away. 



248 NOTES ON THE METEORIC SHOWER 

Very soon after this I started for Waldon hill, where I 
arrived as the clock struck twelve — the appointed hour. 
Mr. Vivian and a large party were already there, and amongst 
them was the Eev. R E. Eichards, who fortunately was able 
to give us the name of every fixed staf down to the fourth 
magnitude. Some of the party had reached the rendezvous 
at eleven o'clock, and between that hour and midnight had 
counted about 200 meteors. After that time they became so 
numerous as to render enumeration impossible. 

I certainly do not exaggerate when I state that from half- 
past twelve to two o'clock there were three (I believe there 
were five) meteors every second on the average. In other 
words, there were in this hour and a half, certainly not fewer 
than sixteen thousand falling stars, and in all probability the 
number amounted to twenty-seven thousand. 

After two o'clock they became gradually less numerous, 
and at half-past two the decrease was very marked. About 
a quarter after four, there were so few to be seen that we 
broke up our watch ; but just before reaching my home, at 
half-past four, I saw two very fine meteors, which left good 
trains. 

As was predicted, by far the greater number radiated from 
a point witliin the "sickle" in the constellation LeOy but the 
radiant of no inconsiderable number was in Perseus — much 
nearer the zeinth; whilst an occasional nonconformist, assert- 
ing the right of private judgment, shot across the sky in a 
very lawless manner. 

Almost every eye was kept pretty steadily on Leo; never- 
theless the opposite or western part of the sky presented the 
most pictorial effects. In the east, many of the flights were 
very short ; indeed, in several cases they were foreshortened 
into a point; but in tlie west, they streamed down towards 
the horizon in a most grand, indeed, awe-inspiring manner. 

When any striking meteor was observed to explode, a long 
silence was enjoined and strictly observ-ed, in order, if pos- 
sible, to detect detonations ; but no sound was heard. 1 may 
state, however, that in more than one instance, a few persons 
stated that they did hear a noise; but as they also stated 
that it immediately followed the explosion, it was obvious 
that they had forgotten the distance of the meteors from us, 
or the rate at which sound travels, and that they allowed 
their imagination to impose upon their hearing. 

Most of the stars were of a bright yellow light, which 
became tinged with scarlet on exploding. The trains were 
almost invariably a bright and slightly-bluish green. 



OF NOVEMBER, MDCCCLXVI. 249 

At about half-past one, a smart but brief shower drove us 
for shelter to an adjacent house, the use of which Mr. Vivian 
had thoughtfully secured in the event of it being needed. 
The window of the room we occupied commanded the south- 
western sky, and afforded us an opportunity of witnessing 
perhaps the grandest part of the spectacle. A very black 
cloud extended from near the zenith to within about thirty 
degrees of the horizon, leaving a zone of clear sky below it. 
From behind this cloud, the meteors shot down with rapid 
flight and in countless numbers, producing an effect which I 
shall never forget. The appearance was that of a cloud 
resolving itself, not into rain drops, but into falling stars : 
The illusion was perfect. 

Of individual facts noted during the night, the following 
were the most interesting: — One star, after a very short 
flight, was seen to explode with a bluish-green light, very 
near the radiant in Leo. The burning matter gradujdly faded 
into a smoke or cloud-Uke mass. At first this was con- 
siderably diffused, but it soon contracted into a nebulous- 
looking patch of a somewhat compact form, and was visible 
through an opera glass for fully ten minuted, its position 
being apparently stationary throughout. 

Another meteor shot off almost fix)m our zenith towards 
the north-west, leaving a brilliant bluish-green train, which, 
after a few seconds, became a vaporous or smoke-like streak. 
Whilst we gazed at it, we saw it assume a vermicular motion, 
passing from a straight to a curved, and next to an undulating, 
small narrow band; then it gradually contracted in length, 
dilated in breadth, and ultimately became a small rudely- 
circular patch of cloudy-looking matter, which remained visible 
for several minutes, whilst it drifted towards the south-east, — 
the direction in which a smart breeze was blowing at the time. 
Its change of form seemed to be effected by the movement of 
its south-eastern end only— that most remote from the meteor, 
— as if it had been drawn up against the wind towards its 
other extremity, or what may be called its head. 

Soon after four o'clock a brilliant meteor shot away towards 
the west, fix)m a point about ten degrees west of our zenith. 
It left a splendid train, from which it seemed to detach itself 
to pursue its flight alone. After a very short time the star 
itself exploded, and took the form of a cylindrical or wheat- 
ear-like mass of flame — the discarded tail being still visible. 
^ Several meteors, by exploding near, but behind, the edge of 
a cloud, threw out a flash resembling lightning. Indeed, 
several observers pronounced it to be lightning, but I have 



250 NOTES ON THE METEORIC SHOWER 

no doubt that the explanation I have given is the correct 
one. 

It was observed that, from three to four o'clock, there 
appeared to be more light diffused over the general sl^ than 
could be ascribed to star-light; but there was no appearance 
of the Aurora Bo^ealis. 

I have said that a brilliant shooting star was seen as early 
as six in the evening, and that I saw two fine ones at half- 
past four the next morning. Now in the interval — ten and a 
half hours — ^the earth passed through nearly three quarters of 
a million of miles ; hence, to say nothing of the fects that the 
meteors were moving in a direction opposite the earth's and 
with a great velocity, the stream of stars we met was more 
tlian 700,000 miles in length. 

There are one or two speculations, suggested by Shooting 
Stars and kindred phenomena, to which I will venture to call 
attention before closing this brief paper: — 

It is well-known that an impression remains on the retina 
of the eye for some time after the object which produces it is 
removed. The duration of the impression depends, amongst 
other things, on the vividness of the light proceeding from 
the object; being, indeed, a direct function of its intensity. 
From certain experiments, it seems that in the case of a 
burning coal, this duration is about the seventh part of a 
second.* Now, as many of the trains of Shooting Stars re- 
main visible for even two or tliree seconds, it is obvious that 
they are, not merely subjective, but real objective traina 
Respecting their origin, there appears to be some difficulty in 
forming a definitive opinion. If they consist of burning 
matter furnished and abandoned by the meteor, it is not easy 
to understand why they remain apparently at rest. From 
their inertia, their motion should be equal to that of the 
body from which they are detached, with, perhaps, the dimi- 
nution of a minute quantity on account of the greater resist- 
ance, relatively to their mass, to whicli they may be exposed 
from the highly attenuated atmosphere through which they 
pass. The end, like every other point of the train, instead of 
moving after its parent, appears to be sensibly at rest, whilst 
the motion of the latter is not only sensible, but rapid. 

It is well known that potassium decomposes tlie water on 
which it is placed, and, by uniting with the liberated oxygen, 
forms potassa. The heat produced by tliis oxydation is so 
gi-eat as to ignite the hydrogen which has been set free from 
the water. It is also known that aqueous vapour, or water 

* Lardner's " Hand Book of Natural Philosophy," pn^re 694. 1851. 



OF NOVEMBER, MDCCCLXVI. 251 

gas, is decomposed by being passed through a red hot tube. 
May it not be possible, therefore, that the train consists of 
matter which was never part of the meteor, and that it is 
produced in the following manner ? 1st. By the resistance of 
the atmosphere a portion of the motion of the meteor is 
destroyed as motion, and converted into its equivalent of 
heat. 2nd. The heat thus generated raises the temperature 
of the meteor so much as to enable it to decompose the 
aqueous vapour that may exist along its line of flight. 3rd. 
The liberated hydrogen immediately ignites and fonns the 
train. In a few instances, the spectroscope has been with 
more or less success applied to the analysis of meteoric 
trains. I am not aware how far the foregoing speculation is 
borne out by the results which have b^n obtained, but it 
does appear to me to be in harmony with the fact of the 
stationary character of the trains, which on the rival hypo- 
thesis seems to be attended with considerable diflficulty. 

There seems to be so intimate a connection between Shoot- 
ing Stars, Fire-balls, and the Meteorites which fall to the 
earth, as to render it scarcely necessary to apologize for 
annexing to this paper a speculation respecting the last class 
of bodies. I have some difficulty in divesting myself of the 
idea that meteorites ought to be capable of giving us some 
information respecting the temperature of space from which 
they come — a temperature which must be above the natural 
zero, since it cannot be independent of either stellar or solar 
influences. The correctness of the following data will, I 
presume, be admitted by every one. 

1st. That the mean velocity with which meteorites reach 
the earth is 114,000 feet per second. (Humboldt's " Cosmos," 
Sabine's ed., vol. i., note 69, page 26, 1847.) 

2nd. That the quantity of heat which would raise the 
temperature of one pound of water one degree centigrade, is 
exactly equal to what would be generated if a pound weight, 
after having fallen through a height of 1,390 feet, had its 
motion destroyed by coUision with the earth. (Tyndall's 
" Heat as a Mode of Motion," page 40. 1865.) 

3rd. That the heat generated by the collision of a falling 
body increases as the square of the velocity. (Ibid, page 43.) 

4th. That the heat thus generated increases as the weight 
of the body. 

6th. That the heat required to melt iron is about 1560° C. 
(Percy's " Metallurgy, Iron and Steel," page 5. 1864.) 

6th. That the Specific Heat of iron is 0113795, that of 
water being unity. In other words, that the heat required to 



252 NOTES ON THE METEORIC SHOWER 

raise the temperature of a pound of water one degree, will 
raise the temperature of a pound of iron 8*8°. (Ibid.) 

7th. That the velocity of a freely-falling body is, at any 
moment, eight times the square root of the height fallen 
through. For example : a freely-falling body has, at the 
moment it has fallen through 144 feet, a velocity of 8>/144 
= 8x12 = 96 feet per second. Hence it has a velocity of 
8s/1390, when it has fallen through 1390 feet 

In this speculation I shall make tlie following assump- 
tions : — 

(a.) That the meteorites with which we have to deal are 
composed of iroiL 

(6.) That the Specific Heat of meteoric iron is the same as 
that of terrestrial iron, = 01 13795. 

(c.) That immediately before entering the earth's atmos- 
phere, the temperature of the meteorite was that of the space 
whence it came. 

(d.) That, since the meteorite remains in a solid condition, 
its temperature after collision did not exceed 1550"* C. — ^that 
required to melt iron. 

In order to simplify the calculation, I will, for the present, 
suppose that all the heat generated is concentrated in the 
meteorite. 

Let S = the temperature of space. 

R = the temperature produced in the meteorite by the rests- 
taQce of the earth's atmosphere before collision. 

C = the temperature produced in the meteorite by the de- 
struction of its motion on collision. 

T = the temperature of the meteorite immediately aft«r 
collision. 

Then it is obvious that T = S+R-4-C; hence S = T-R-C. 

Now, on the data previously enunciated, C is easily calcu- 
lable ; for (1) the velocity of the meteorite on reaching the 
earth being 114000 feet per second; the velocity of a pound 
of iron which, on its motion being destroyed, is (6 and 7) 
capable of raising its temperature SS"" centigrade, being 
8^/1390; and the heat into which destroyed motion is con- 
verted (3) varying as the square of the velocity ; we have 
p /1 14000 \^ ^.o • 

.*. log. C = 2 log. 1 UOOO -f log. 8-8 - (2 log. 8 4- log 1390) 

= 101 138098 4- 0-9444827 - (1 -8061800 + 3-1430148) 

-11-0582925-4-9491948 

= 61090977 



OF NOVEMBER, MDCCCLXVI. 253 

Hence C= 1285576° centigrade 
Wherefore, putting T = 1550° centigrade (apparently a maximum), 
we have 

S- 1550°- 1285576°- R 
- - 1284026° centigrade - R 

Now, the heat generated by the resistance of the atmos- 
phere cannot be inconsiderable, so that R must have a 
value greater than zero; and, hence, its effect must be to 
lower the value of S by that amount, whatever it may be. 
But putting R=0, it follows that the temperature of space 
is 1,284,026 centigrade degrees below freezing water; that 
is if all the heat, generated by the destruction of its motion, 
is concentrated in the meteorite. 

Instead, however, of this being the case, the heat will be 
divided between the meteorite and the earth; but in what 
ratio it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to determine. 

Various attempts have been made to determine the absolute 
zero of temperature, but the results have been scarcely so 
accordant with one another as to produce any great degree 
of confidence in them. Tyndall places it provisionally 
at — 273° centigrade (op. cit., page 79), Rumford at — 862°, 
and Gadolin at — 813° in the same scala* Assuming the 
lowest of these — that of Count Rumford, — 862** below the 
centigrade zero — to be true; and, for the present, ignoring 
the fact that the absolute zero is, in all probability, below 
the temperature of space ; it would follow that of the 1285676 
centigrade degrees of heat into which the motion of the 
meteorite is converted, no more than 1550°+ 862° = 2412° can 
have been concentrated on the meteorite itself. In other 
words, the meteorite would retain but ^^ of the heat gene- 
rated by the destruction of its motion — a fraction apparently 
much too small to be probable, but which, nevertheless, 
appears to be a maximum, unless, as seems to be the fact, 
the absolute zero of temperature is considerably lower than 
even Count Rumford's estimate. 

For the sake of simplicity, it has been assumed above that 
R ^ 0; that is, that the temperature produced on the meteorite 
by the resistance of the earth's atmosphere is nothing; and 
that S = 0, or that the temperature of space is absolute zero, — 
more correctly, that the meteorite immediately before enter- 
ing our atmosphere was utterly destitute of heat, at least, in 
the form of temperature. 

With regard to the first, as has been abeady stated, the 

♦ Ency. Brit., " Heat,** voL xi., page 374, eiji^hth edition. 



254 NOTES ON THE METEORIC SHOWER 

heat generated by atmospheric resistance cannot be incon- 
siderabla In all probability, meteors and meteorites become 
visible, even when they are traversing the thin aii' of great 
altitudes, in consequence of combustion or incandescence 
produced in them by this very heat of resistance. 

With respect to the second, it is difficult to believe it 
possible that matter in any portion of space, and especially 
within the Solar System, can be totally without heat; for, 
everywhere, it must be exposed to stellar radiation; whilst 
as a member of the Solar family, or as a stranger visiting it, 
the Sun's effect upon it can scarcely be nil. 

But whatever may be the value of either of the forgoing 
elements, its effect must be to enhance the result already 
arrived at — the high probability that the absolute zero of 
temperature is considerably lower than any one has yet 
estimated it. 

It may perhaps be objected that the specific heat of 
meteoric iron may be other than that used in this specu- 
lation. The objection wUl, of course, be admitted at once ; 
but it may be asked, in reply, — " If other, is it greater or 
smaller?" The specific heat of terrestrial iron is by no 
means the lowest in the scale. It is fully three times greater 
than that of gold, mercury, lead, and several other metals.* 
But waiving this point, and assuming the specific heat of a 
meteorite to be equal to that of Hydrogen (3*409)1 — the 
greatest known, — the effect would be, all other things being 
the same, that if the heat generated by the destruction of 
the motion of a meteorite were all concentrated on the 
meteorite itself, its temperature would be raised, not 1285576"* 
centigrade, but 1285576 x 114-3409 = 42990° centigrade, and 
the temperature of space would be 1550° ~ 42990° = - 41440° 
centigrade ; so that, proceeding as before, the meteorite would 
itself retain no more than ^ of the heat produced by the 
destruction of its motion ; that is, if the absolute zero be, as 
Ruraford estimated, - 862° centigrade. 

No doubt, the range from ^ to 5^^ is very large, but it is 
scarcely necessary to remark, that I by no means wish it to 
be thought that this crude speculation has done more than to 
have rendered it probable that hitherto the absolute thermal 
zero has been estimated far above its real vahie. 

Geologists state that in the remote past the eartli experi- 
enced very considerable cliuiatal vicissitudes. At one time, 
sub-tropical plants grew in great variety and luxuriance in 

* Tyndall, op. cit., pages 147-8. t Ibid, page 150. 



OF NOVEMBER, MDCCCLXVI. 255 

North Greenland ; at another, Brit-ain, at least as low as the 
Thames, was clothed with glaciers. Astronomers point to 
known changes in the excentricity of the earth's orbit, changes 
in the position in the lines of apsides in relation to the line 
of equinoxes, and changes in the inclination of the earth's 
axis; and some of them, having calculated the extreme 
thermal effects these changes can produce, tell us that at 
certain periods, a given portion of the earth's surface would 
receive an increase of Solar heat amounting to a definite 
fraction of its present mean annual value ; whilst, in other 
eras, there would be a corresponding decrease. Accordingly, 
they look hopefully in this direction for the solution of the 
problem of the thermal history of the earth. It is obvious, 
however, that before these calculations can avail us, we must 
know what is the mean annual heat which the Sun gives us ; 
in other words, what would be our temperature if there had 
been no sun, or, to return to my starting-point, what is the 
temperature of space. 



ON THE PARASITISM OF OROBANCHE MAJOR. 

BY EDWARD PAEFETT. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



Yaucher, M., In Memoir du Museum, vol. x. p. 

Sutton, C., Linnean Society's Transactionfi, vol. iv. p. 173. 

Smith, Sir J. E. „ „ „ p. 163. 

Hooker, Dr. „ „ vol. xxii. p. 1. 

Griffith, W. „ „ On Ovulum of Santalom album, 

&c., vol. xviii. p. 59. 
„ „ „ Loranthus and Yisoum album, voL 

xviii. p. 71. 
Harley, Dr. „ „ On Mistletoe, vol. xxiv. p. 178. 



Last autumn my friend Professor Dickie suggested to me 
the desirability of investigating the history and physiological 
relationship of Orobanche major to the plant on which it 
grows, and this spring I took up the investigation ; and as 
the plant grows within an easy distance of Exeter, I have 
been enabled to watch its progress. Some may be curious to 
know the etymology of the word Orobanche. Pliny says, "A 
weed there is which we named Orobanche, for it choketh 
eurile (ervani, a kind of vetch,) and other pulse." The word 
is derived from orohcs, vetch, and anclio, to strangle, and is by 
some called strangle tare, as it was supposed to kill the 
plants on which it grew. 

To the early relationship or parasitism I must plead my 
ignorance, except through the study of the writings of others, 
as I have not sufficient time or oppoilunity for studying it 
through all its various stages. At the same time, I con- 
sidered that the history of its parasitism would not be com- 
plete, if I did not include its early history as well as its later 
life. 

Orobanche major, according to Mr. Hewit C. Watson, has 
its southern limit in Cornwall, Isle of Wight, and in Kent ; 
and its northern range is in Northumberland and Dumfries ; 
at the same time our English type has a geographical range 
through between 50° and 56° of latitude. 



o 
< 

w 
o 

c 




S 5 fa fe 



?^ 



ON THE PARASITISM OF OROBANCHE MAJOR. 257 

Dr. Moore, in his " Flora, or Cyhele Hybemical* has given 
its range in the south and east of Ireland in latitude 51° to 
54° ; but it does not appear to be common except near Cork, 
Mr. Wood, in his " Continental Flora," mentions it, but gives 
no localities for it. I cannot therefore give its south-eastern 
range or distribution. 

Withering, in his "British Plants," has evidently, like 
Casper Bauhin, confounded two or three species ; at least, so 
they are now considered to be ; for he makes Or. major to grow 
on Genista tinctoria, Tri/olium, Orobics tuberous, Hieracium 
sabandum, and Centaurea sccMosa. But more recent investi- 
gation has limited its parasitism to two species of plants, 
the common broom, Sarothamnus scoparius, and the furze, 
Ulex Europceus. 

When healthy plants are produced they grow to between 
one and two feet and half high, and produce seeds abun- 
dantly. The seeds for the size of the plant are very small, 
and in the autumn when the capsules are ripe they become 
dehiscent, and, by the action of the wind, &c., the seeds are 
scattered over the ground. These then, by the rains, and 
probably also by gravitation, find their way down to the roots 
congenial to their development. M. Vaucher, in " Memoirs 
du Museum d'Historie Naturelle," vol. x. p. 261, studied the 
development of the branching Orobanche, which is parasitic 
on the roots of hemp. He says of the seeds, that the outside 
is a well defined net- work, the interior is a whitish substance, 
homogeneous, a little horny, and with all the characters of 
the Albumen of Gaertner; but nothing can be discovered 
which resembles an embryo, still less cotyledons. And the 
Rev. Mr. Sutton, in "The Linnean Society's Transactions," 
vol. iv. p. 174, says that the seeds are acotyledonous. Dr 
Lindley, in the third edition of " The Vegetable Kingdom," 
says of the Broomrapes that they are distinguished from the 
Gesnerworts by the important circumstance of their seeds 
having only a minute embryo lying in one end of fleshy 
albumen. This, you will observe, is directly opposed to the 
views of both M. Vaucher and Mr. Sutton. And Mr. Sutton 
goes on to say the same as M. Vaucher, that when the seed 
has attached itself to the root of any living plant to which it 
is suited by its nature to adhere, it swells into a pellucid 
squamose germ or bulb, and often throwing out around the 
point of adhesion several tender fibres, it pushes up at once 
into a perfect plant, without any lateral lobes or cotyledons. 

Mr. Curtis, in "Flora Londoniensis," thought that, the 
seeds being so small, they must first vegetate in the earth, 

VOL. II. s 



268 ON THE PARASmSK OF OBOBANCHE KAJOB. 

and. Bending down their radicals, come in contact with tome 
proper root, attach themselveB to it, quit their parent earth, and 
become a parasite. This statement, although ingenious^ does 
not, according to the former investigators, appear to be tnie^ 
bnt that the plant is parasitical from its first derdopment 
from the seed. M. Schlauter says, " that the seeds only aeiiB 
on seedlings, and that they are unable to attack loote of 
stronger growtk" If this be really the case, which I Toy 
much doubt, the plants of 0. me^ that I have inTeetigatad 
must have been at least eighteen or twenty years dd, aa I 
have known the plants of Ulex, on which they were growini^ 
quite that time ; but I have not known the Orobanbhe m 
long. 

f^fessor Babington, in "English Botany, Supplement^" lias 
figured Orobanehe Fieridis as having roots of its own, indepenH 
dent of its attachment to the root of the Picris, and ther^fiDsa 
cannot be called a true parasite. This is not peculiar to tUs 
species, but it is one I have never had the op|K»rtnnitjr of 
examining. I find, on examining specimens of OrobaDcte 
minor, growing on Midieago nuuniUnta, that they have roots of 
their own, as well as being attached to the medicago roots; and 
also that figured by M. Yaucher, 0. ranuma, has nx>ts of its owa^ 
as well as being attached to the hemp. It would appear tmm 
this that those species of Orobanche attached to the smaller 
rooted plants might be conveniently arranged into a aab- 
division of the genus; namely, true parasites, or those whoee 
dependance, so far as is known, is entirely on the plant on 
which it is found, and those species a part of whose nourish- 
ment is drawn from the plant to which it is attached, and 
the rest from the surrounding soil. But as far as 0. mofor is 
concerned, I have never been able to detect any external 
roots. Bnt in M. Yaueher's figures and description, as well 
as those of Mr. Sutton, they have both figured and described 
the embryotic plant as having roots externally clasping the 
root of the plant on which they are parasitic. 

Dioscorides also observed this peculiarity ; for he says, ** I 
have marked myself that this herbe growethe much about 
the roots of Broome, y* which it claspeth about with certain 
lyttle rootes on every side, like a dogge holding a bone in his 
mouth." 

Now, whether the plants of Orohanehe major absorb or 
derive nourishment through their bulbous scaly base, as they 
are frequently seated sevcrral inches below the surface of the 
soil, I am not prepared to say, but in all probability they do. 
The young Orobanche, when once established on its root of 



OK THE PABASITISM OF OROBANCHE MAJOR. 259 

farze or broom, sends a radical or tap root into the tissues, 
and from thence its sole nourishment appears to be drawn 
from the plant on which it is parasitic. But here let us 
observe the wonderful power that is exerted by this tender, 
germ-like Orobanche to forQ3 its radical, a mere mass of 
delicate cells. What is this wonderful force that is here 
exerted, that this delicate, spongiole-like root should be able 
to penetrate the hard, woody roots of the furze in particular? 

The force here seen exerted is not singular, as it is the 
same with young plants of mistletoe, cmd in the genus 
Baianaphora and its allies, and also with the Indian genus 
Loran^tts, 

This radical is soon succeeded by others as the plant 
increases in strength, and requires greater support or nourish- 
ment, until the root of the furze is permeated to a great extent, 
and, by the increase in the size of the roots of the Orobanche, 
it has assumed an abnormal development, as is seen in figs. i. 
and iv., which are longitudinal sections. Here, it will be 
observed, the roots of the parasite permeate the wood of the 
root of the furze indiscriminately. They do not follow any 
particular layers of cells, but appear to grow between them, 
forcing their way wherever the nourishment sought may lead 
them. In this last sentence, you will observe I have given 
the roots of the parasite a power of intelligence, of discrimi- 
nation. Be this as it may, we must allow that either the 
seed of the Orobanche, or the root when the seed germinates, 
must have the power of discrimination or " selection," which 
amounts to the same thing. 

In all cases that have come under my observation, where 
the parasite has once established itself on the root, the roots 
of the parasite always grow towards the nutritive-giving 
source — namely, the root stock of the furze, and never 
towards the extremity of the furze root; and at the place of 
junction or seat of the parasite it invariably cuts off all sup- 
plies from apical portion of the root, so that in due course 
this portion of the root dies, and at length drops oflF. (See 
fig. L) The Orobanche, when once firmly established, is 
perennial, and, I believe, lasts for many years, and every 
year increases in size, provided the plant on which it is 
parasitic can supply it with sufficient nourishment. Thus the 
Orobanche, in fig. i., had seven half-grown stems about a foot 
in length, besides others in a gemmiparous condition, both 
above and below the place of junction. 

Now, in fig. i, the Orobanche has, as you will observe, 
usurped the place of the anterior portion of the furze root, 

s 2 



260 ON THE PARASITISM OF UROBANCHE MAJOR. 

and filled nearly the interior with its own roots. It has in 
this instance sent its radical along the middle of the furze 
root, and from this the spongiole-like roots of the parasite are 
seen to radiate with a remarkable degree of regularity. The 
interlacement of the cellular systems of the root of the para- 
site with that of the furze is also remarkable. At the same 
time, there is a very striking resemblance in the parasitism 
of this plant with the Indian Balanophorce. 

At the point of attachment or junction of the parasite with 
the furze, the latter increases very much in size from the point 
of attachment to the extremities of the roots of the parasite, 
owing to the displacement of the vascular and cellular systems 
of the furze ; at the same time, it does not appear to rupture 
the cells, but only distort them. This is seen more particularly 
towards the circumference of the root, where the radiating 
roots of the parasite have come in contact with the exterior 
system of the root of the furze; for as they approach the 
exterior they gradually enlarge, so that the extremities of 
their roots become somewhat flattened against the walls of 
the furze root (see fig. vii.) ; and as the roots come near the 
walls, the cells of both the furze and the parasite become 
very much distorted, and the pressure exerted by the parasite 
with the enlargement of its roots gives the roots of the furze 
the exceedingly hypertrophied appearance. 

Although this plant finds an analogue to a certain degree 
in the BalanophoMecTy its manner of root development comes 
nearer to that of Viscum album, or mistletoe ;* for, in a 
transverse section of a branch at the point of junction of the 
mistletoe, it is seen to send its roots straight through the 
woody system of the plant on which it is parasitic almost at 
right angles to it. Such is also the case in a transverse 
section I made of the Orobanche and the furze. (See fig. iL) 
In this section the roots of the Orobanche are seen penetrating 
the furze at right angles to its growth. They appear to take 
advantage of the cellular tissue which lies between the dense 
bundles forming the medullary rays, and, as you will observe, 
they penetmte quite to the heart or centre of the root. 

M. Vaucher says that the Orobanche does not resemble in 
any way other parasitic plants, such as the Mistletoe and 
Cuscuta. As far as the species investigated by M Vaucher 
is concerned, one is, probably, correct — viz., 0. raviosa; but 
it is not so with 0. major, as instanced above. 

Their power of penetration through the close-grained furze 

* See Dr. Harley's paper on the Mistletoe, in Linn. Trans., vol. 24, pL 28. 



ON THE PARASITISM OF OROBANCHE MAJOR. 161 

is very remarkable, and, as I before said, the parasite always 
directs its roots towards the source from whence the supply 
of nutritive matter is derived. 

In some instcuices the vascular bundles of the peduncle of 
the Orobanche, like those observed by Dr. Hooker in Balano- 
phora, become so intimately connected with the root that 
they seem organically one and the same tissue. (See his fig. 
Linn. Trans., v. 22, pi. 4, tigs. 21, 22.) At the same time, 
when the roots of the Orobanche are fully developed, they 
will be seen to be different in organization from the furze — 
they are elongated, narrow, yellowish tubes, without septa, 
except at the base. The roots are, in fact, nothing more than 
elongated cells, and as they force their way between the cells 
of the furze, they become elongated and much attenuated 
towards their extremities (see fig. vi.), losing entirely the 
septate divisions. 

As before stated, the roots of the Orobanche and the furze 
become so intimately woven that it is very difficult to say 
which is one and which is the other, except by their colour. 
This must be understood to imply when the plants are freshly 
gathered ; for after they have become dry there is no difficulty 
in detecting the roots of the Orobanche in the stem of the 
furze, for the hard, woody cells of the latter remain intact, 
whereas those of the Orobanche, being of a softer substance, 
shrink, and the cells wither and dry up. 

In some specimens that I have examined, I find a certain 
reciprocated union with the root stock and the parasite. It 
appears, that after the irregular cellular bulbous axis of the 
Orobanche has established itself, and the anterior portion of 
the root stock has been so entirely deprived of nourishment 
by the growth of the parasite that it ultimately falls off, 
the axis of the Orobanche enlarges, so much as to cover 
the end of the root, and into this cellulose mass the furze 
occasionally sends that part of its system forming the medul- 
lary rays, so that the union of the two plants becomes perfect. 
(See fig. V.) 

The cells of the Orobanche are distinguished from those of 
the furze, when highly magnified, by being rather thickly 
invested with numerous ovate yellowish bodies, floating 
apparently in the colouring matter, which is so abundant in 
young growing plants. The cell walls of the Orobanche do 
not, under a magnifying power of 1500, appear to be at all 
cellular, but merely a transparent membrane ; whereas those 
of the furze are made up of minute diamond-shaped meshes. 

The yellow bodies above mentioned are, I consider, starch 



262 OH THE PARABITI8M OF OBOBINCHB MAJOB. 

graina They are of a solid, iir^eiilar triangle in form, with 
the angles Toonded off One of them showM a aligl^ d^giee 
of lamination somewhat similar to that seen in the gniiis of 
• potatoe starch, but otherwise smooth and polished. 

With polarized light the grains appear as represented, only 
that I have failed in rendering them so brillianb The body 
of the grain is of the most beautiful blue, with a bint Hogjd 
of yellow, the blue becoming darker as it approaches ui» 
hilum-like crijuson spot; and this purt is of the most intense 
and at the same time apparently semi-transparent^ oolooA 
What the colouring matter really is in which these grunt 
reside I am not able to say, as I am not aware of its raving 
been analysed. Dr. lindley says it is a powerful astringent 
bitter plant, the infusion of which has been employed as a 
detergent application to foul sores. 

like many other plants that were once held in great lepnfea 
for their medicinal virtues, this has also had its day, bat not 
''ceased to be;" and as Mary Howett has very graoefoDj 
said in the following lines : 

<*Qod mig^t have made fhe earth bring finth 
Enough for great and imaU; 
The Btanhr oak and cedar tree, 
WHhoQt a flower at aU. 

*' He migfat hsTe made enoo^ enough 
For erery want of oia% 
For mtdieine, toil, and luxury. 
And yet have made no flowers. 

** Our outward life requirea them not : 
Then wherefore had they birth P 
To minister delight to man. 
To beautify the earth. 

" To comfort men, to whisper hope, 
Whene'er his fiuth is <um ; 
For whoio careth for the flowers. 
Will care much more for Him." 



ON THE 

FLOATATION OF CLOUDS, AND THE FALL OF RAIN. 

BY W. PENGKLLY, F.K.8., F.G.8., ETC. 



A CLOUD may be defined as an aggregation of minute par- 
ticles of water, floating in a gaseous sea of aqueous vapour 
and common air. Though each of the three substances is 
transparent, the light encounters so many distinct surfaces in 
traversing a cloud, that, on account of the numerous con- 
sequent reflexions, it is shorn of much of its intensity ; and 
hence the opacity which clouds present. The amount of light 
lost depends, of course, on the dumber of surfaces in a given 
space, that is on the number of particles, or, what amounts 
to the same thing, on their proximity to one another. Hence, 
when the particles are numerous, and therefore near one 
another, the cloud necessarily increases in blackness; and, 
conversely, the blackness of a cloud denotes that the particles 
are closely packed, and, therefore, likely to coalesce ; in short, 
that there is a decided prospect of rain. 

Since, then, the essential part of a cloud consists of par- 
ticles of water in the true liquid form, the two following 
questions present themselves : — 

1st. Why do the particles float, seeing that their density 
greatly exceeds that of the air by which they are upborne? 

2n(lly. Why, after having floated for a considerable period, 
do they ultimately fall ? 

It is usual, in reply to the first question, to state that, in 
the cloud, the particles of water have a vesicular structure ; 
that they are small vesicles filled with air : in fact, balloons 
whose walls are thin films of water, and which are inflated 
with atmospheric air. There appear to be several objections 
to this statement. 

In the first place, it is perfectly gratuitous ; for no one, I 
believe, professes to have seen these vesicles. They were 
apparently needed to explain a phenomenon, and their exist- 
ence w£ts accordingly imagined. 



264 ON THE FLOATATION OF CLOUDS, 

In the second place, it may be doubted whether they are 
capable of explaining the floatation of clouds. A balloon of 
silk, filled with air of the same density as that suTTOunding 
it, would certainly not continue to float ; an iron boat or buoy, 
filled with water such as that in which it is placed, would 
assuredly sink ; most kinds of wood become water-logged, 
simply because their pores are charged with water instead of 
air — the substance of the wood itself, as distinct from the 
ligneous sponge commonly called wood, being heavier than 
water ; so, also, a vesicle of water filled with the air in which 
it is suspended, would be incapable of floating. If it be 
objected that the vesicles fall from the height at which they 
are formed, to a level such that the difference of the densities 
of the air within and without them prevents their falling 
further, it may be replied that this difference of densities 
would not be permanent ; the external pressure would cause 
the air within to contract, and the walls of the balloon would 
either thicken accordingly, or would shrivel and collapse. 

In the third place, the vesicular hypothesis, even if tenable, 
would leave outstanding phenomena, requiring some other 
explanation. The clouds which hang like palls over our great 
manufacturing towns largely consist of particles of coal, 
which are by no means vesicular, and have a density exceed- 
ing that of water ; yet they are sustained aloft. There must 
be some cause for this floatation, and this, in all probability, 
will be found sufficient for the suspension of more ordinary 
clouds also. 

In order to ftill through the air, the weight of the particle 
must exceed the weight of an equal volume of air and the 
resistance which the air presents : this excess is the falling 
power or force. Thus, let W = the weight of the particle of 
water; u\ that of the particle of atmosphere of the same volume ; 
r, the atmospheric resistance; then if \^ = w+r+x,x is the 
falling force. If x is gi-eater than 0, the pai-ticle must fall ; but 
if X is equal to or less than 0, it must as certainly float. W and 
w having equal volumes, the value nf ./• is great or small ju.st as 
that of r is small or great ; in other words, the falling force 
depends on the atmospheric resistance relatively to the mass 
or weiglit of the particle of water. 

Let it be supposed that a number of particles of water 
suspended in the air encounter a resistance so great as to 
prevent their falling : What would liappen in the event of 
their coalescence ? First, fur the sake of simplicity, let it l)e 
supposed that tlie number of partichts is 8, and that they 
coalesce and form a droj). Assuming the density to he as 



AND THE FALL OF RAIN. 265 

before, it is obvious that the volume of the drop will be eight 
times that of each particle ; and the mass or weight will be 
increased in the same ratio. Let it be further supposed that 
the drop and particle are similar solids, as, for example, 
spheres; it is clear that the diameter of the drop will be 
twice that of each particle, since the volumes of globes are 
to one another as the cubes of their diameters. But whilst 
the weight has been increased eight times, what has been the 
augmentation of resistance? The resistance, of course, de- 
pends on the quantity of surface exposed to the atmosphere, 
and as the surfaces of globes vary as the squares of their 
diameters, the surface of the drop is four times that of 
each particle; therefore the resistance has been augmented 
four times also. That, is the eight particles have formed a 
drop having a weight eight times that which each of them 
had, but which is exposed to a resistance only four times 
greater than that which each of them encoimtered; relatively, 
therefore, the resistance is but one-half of what it was before 
coalescence. Had the number of drops been 27, the diameter 
would have been 3, the surface and resistance each 9, and the 
volume and weight each 27 times increased ; or the relative 
resistance would have been diminished three times. If the 
number of particles had been 64, the diameter, resistance, 
and weight would have been four, sixteen, and sixty-four 
respectively, and the relative resistance would have become 
one-fourth ; and so on. In short, the relative resistance 
decreases as the diameter increases. Technically, the resis- 
tance per unit of surface is inversely as the diameter, or, the 
density remaining the same, inversely as the cube root of the 
weight. The diameters in the cases supposed, and indicated 
by them, are the successive natural numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... . 
w, of which the relative resistances are the reciprocals, 1, ^, J, 
J^, i. . . . i ; the former are a series in Arithmetical Progres- 
sion, the latter a series in Harmonical Progression. 

By making the drop sufficiently large, the relative resis- 
tance may be diminished without limit ; and by making the 
particle small enough, the relative resistance may be indefi- 
nitely increased. If the particle is very small, r, in the 
equation, becomes very large, and a?, consequently, very small ; 
and if it be not greater than 0, the particle must float ; but if 
a sufficient number of particles coalesce, r becomes very 
small in relation to W, and x correspondingly large. Sooner 
or later it must be greater than 0, and then the drop will 
inevitably fall. 

I am not prepared to defend the assumption made at an 



266 ON THE FLOATATION OF CLOUDS, ETC. 

earlier part of this brief paper — that the coaleecene of the 
partides irould leave the density of the water unaltered; 
bat it is obvions that the only change which can occur is 
that of an increase of density. By such a tshange the mass 
would, of course, be unaffected, but the volume, and there- 
fore the surfiatce and the resistance would be diminished, and 
consequently the jEdling power would be augmented corres- 
pondingly. 

P08T8CBIPT. — In the discussion which followed the reading 
of this papor, the Bev. W. Harpley remarked that the resis- 
tance of the atmosphere would modify the form of the follinff 
drops, and thus introduce a new condition, which it would 
be necessary to consider. The force of the observation is 
obvious. It will be seen, however, that it pre-supposes the 
drops to be fidling; or that^ in the equation, x is greater than 0. 
Hence we have to consider, not why some drops fall whilst 
others floaty but ^ What would be the changes of form in 
two fftlling drops of di£Eerent sizes t" and " What dynamical 
effects would thereby be produced?" Before ftdling, the 
drops are similar soUds — supposed to be spheres; and the 
change of form will be jpreatest where the rdative resistance^ 
or the resistance per umt of surfieuse, is greatest. Now, it has 
already been shown that this will be in the smallest drop ; 
hence, all other things being the same, the smallest fiaUing 
drop will undeigo the greatest change of form. Further, this 
change will be confined to the resisted, or lowest surface, 
which will become more or less flattened. Hence, the resisted 
surface, and consequently the resistance, will be augmented, 
and this augmentation mil be greatest in the smallest fialling 
drops. It is conceivable that a drop which had b^un to 
£Edl mav thus have its motion destroyed. In short, the effect 
is simply that of enhancing the residt previously reached. 



ON 

THE TEMPERATUEE OF THE ANTIENT WORLD. 

BT CHABLE8 DATTBEinr, M.D., F.R.8., 
ProftMor 9if Botany f Oxford. 



Thsbb is a considerable degree of vagneness in the state* 
ments of modern geologists with regard to the temperature 
of the antient world. It is assumed indeed in general, that 
its heat was greater in former geological epochs than it is at 
the present ; but whilst some would place it so high, that 
even in Ai'ctic regions a tropical heat is supposed by them 
to have prevailed, othei-s conceive that the difference between 
the actual temperature, and that which characterised the 
earliest times in which animals and plants existed, was not 
greater than might be accounted for by oceanic currents, 
or by a different distribution of sea and land. 

Now I know only of two ways by which the point in 
question could be set at rest ; namely, by appealing either 
to the remains of animals or of vegetables found in the 
strata. 

Of these the latter, I conceive, convey the most tmst- 
worthy information ; for animals, of a high grade at least, by 
migrating from one locality to another, so as to escape the 
extremes of heat or cold, might have taken up their abodes in 
far higher latitudes than those suited for their usual residence. 
This, however, does not apply either to vegetables or indeed 
to the lower classes of animals, and hence a detailed com- 
parison of the remains of either found in the strata with 
their living analogues at the present day, may enable us to 
form a pretty fair estimate of the conditions under which 
they could have maintained their existence formerly. 

But here too a difficulty arises from the wide geographical 
range over which many tribes of living plants are distributed; 
so that if we infer a high temperature from the occurrence 
in a fossil state of a particular plant, because its nearest 




268 ON THB TEMPERATURE OF THE AMTIXNT WORU). 

living analogae is a native of the tropics, we are met with 
the objection, that others belonging to the same fiamily are 
found in much colder latitudes. 

It struck me, that the only way of getting over this 
difficulty was to consider the mean, between the highest and 
lowest temperature at which a great natural fiEunuy occurs 
at present, as that most congenial to the health and vigour of 
the race, and to regard it therefore as representing approxi- 
mately the climate in which fossil plants of the same de- 
scription had formerly flourished. 

The tendency indeed of all plants to spread themselves in 
every direction from a centre, until stopped by some external 
or internal impediment— external, that is, when prevented 
by mountains, seas, or rivers, or else by the pre-occupation of 
the soil by species of at least equal vigour with themselves ; 
internal, by the want of power in their own organisation to 
struggle with the new climatic conditions to which they were 
subjected — must create a certain number of stragglers in 
either direction, and thus convey a &lse impression of the 
circumstances most suitable to the tribe in general. 

Palms, for instance, the natives of the tropics, extend in a 
few cases to the borders of the temperate sone ; vines, pro- 
perly belonging to the warmer portions of the latter, straggle 
in a few instances as low as Persia, and as high as f^kfort- 
upon-Oder; but no one could therefore conclude that^ in a 
state of nature, either the one or the other extreme would be 
that in which the family as a whole would be likely to have 
flourished. Upon the whole, then, it seemed to me, that the 
most probable method of arriving at the temperature existing 
during the several stages wliich the globe has passed through 
in its progress, from the earliest dawn of creation to the 
present time, would be to ascertain the mean between the 
extremes of heat and cold within which each one of the great 
natural families of plants predominating in the vegetation of 
each period is now capable of maintaining itself unassisted 
by man, although it must be admitted that, in families in- 
habiting the tropics, this mode of calculation would be likely 
to place the temperature too low, inasmuch as, whilst we know 
that no member of the family will sustain more than a 
certain amount of cold, we are ignorant how much greater a 
heat than that which prevails at the equator would prove 
fatal to their existenca 

At all events, we may be pretty sure, that the principle 
upon which we proceed will not exaggerate the temperature 
assigned to the antient world, but rather the reverse ; for it 



ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ANTIENT WORLD. 269 

is contrary to all probability, that a family of plants, such 
as the palms, should have so generally pervaded the globe, 
if the tempemtore at the time had not been greater than 
that which at present is suited only to a few exceptional 
species or genera. 

Now the oldest of the rock formations from which we can 
derive any trustworthy evidence of climate from the character 
of its vegetation is the Devonian, in which we meet abundant 
traces of ferns, many of which belong to arborescent genera, 
such as Caidopteris, and others specified by Sir Charles Lyell. 
The same tribe also constitutes the bulk of the true coal 
formation, and with them are associated, Coniferm of the 
Araucarian type ; Lepidodendra, of which we have no living 
representatives, but which bear the nearest resemblance in 
structure to Lycopodiacece; CalamiteSy to which no parallel 
exists at present, but which are supposed to have been gigantic 
Equiseta; and lastly SigillaruB and Stigmarice, now ascertained 
to be the stems and roots of one and the same plant, what- 
ever that may have been ; for some regard it as a Cycad, and 
others as a highly-developed Cryptogam. 

Now the family of ferns is distributed over the colder 
regions of the globe pretty generally, — a certain amount of 
humidity and a shelter from the dii-ect rays of the sun being 
the conditions most favourable to its existence. But they 
extend also into the tropics, in places where moisture and 
shade prevail, as in Mexico, where the mean temperature is 
60*, and in the West Indies, where it ranges in various parts 
of the Archipelago from 78° to 80°. 

As however there is much reason for believing, that a large 
portion of the coal is derived from arborescent species, let 
us confine ourselves to the consideration, What is the range 
of temperature within which tree-ferns are capable of 
flourishing? 

The highest point, as we have seen, consistent with 
their growth, is not less than 80°, as is the case in the West 
India Islands ; but some species thrive also in New Zealand, 
where the mean temperature does not exceed 52°. If we take 
the mean of these extremes, we should infer, that the tem- 
perature prevailing at the time when they flourished in such 
abundance as appears to have been the case during the 
period of the coal formation, could not have been less than 
62-5° Fahrenheit. 

Nor is this inconsistent with the other species of plants 
associated with them. Cavi/er<B indeed ai-e found, but they 
are of the Araucarian type. Now, in estimating the tem- 



270 ON THK TEMPERATURE OF THE ANTISKT WORLD. 

perature in which the Araucari» flourish, it must be admittedi 
tliat the Araucaria imbricata is found in Chili, lat. 39^ which 
has a mean temperature of 60°, and that it grows pretty b^eely 
even in Qreat Britain. 

But the Braziliensis comes from the Brazils, a region 
situated in south latitude 24^ of which the mean temperature 
is 73° ; and the Excelsa, or Norfolk Island pine, grows in an 
island situated in lat. 29^ where the mean is 60°. The latter 
also is found in Van Diemen's Land, where the mean tern-* 
perature does not exceed 52°, and indeed grows vigorously at 
Naples, although it is killed by the frosts of the more 
northern portions of Italy. We might therefore infer, that 
the extremes of temperature within which the Araucarian 
tribe generally will thrive, unassisted by man, are from 60" 
to 52°, so that the mean most favourable to them would 
be 56°. 

But if the presence of Araucarise in the coal formation 
might lead us to reduce the temperature of the period of the 
cosd nearly nine degrees, the other vegetable remains found 
in it would incline us to raise it almost as much. 

Lepidodendra seem to bear the same analogy to the Lyco- 
podiums of the present day which tree-ferns do to the her- 
baceous species, but with this difference, that whilst the 
latter are nowhere more common than in the cooler r^ona 
of the present globe, Lycopodiums are at present most 
abundant in tropical ones. In New Zealand indeed, the mean 
temperature of which is 52°, a Lycopodium occurs, which 
rises to the height of three feet ; but in general they are low' 
insignificant-looking plants ; so that the size of the Lepido- 
dendrons of the antient world would seem to indicate an 
exaggeration even of the temperature which prevails at pre- 
sent in the tropics. The same remark applies to Calamites, 
and to Sigillarise ; for if we are to regard the latter as Cycads, 
we must seek for their analogues, in the Indian Archipelago, 
the mean temperature of which is 78°, where the Cycas 
circinalis flourishes ; at the Cape of Good Hope, temperature 
60 7°, the native habitat of the Zamias ; or, lastly, in Mexico, 
where we meet with another member of the Cycas family, 
Dion edule, thriving in the temperature of 65°. 

Putting all these facts togetlier, I cannot bring myself to 
believe, that the temperature at which the coal plants 
flourished could have been so low as that which the influence 
of oceanic currents might produce upon islands or mari- 
time tracts situated in a northern latitude ; for what the 
elevation produced by such a cause must on such a sup- 



ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ANTIENT WORLD. 271 

position have been, will appear from the following state- 
ment of the localities in which coal plants of that period 
have been discovered. Coal plants, then, of the same type 
as those just enumerated, have been found at the mouth of 
the Lena» the mean temperature of which is only 6° above 
zero; and in Bear Island, between Spitzbergen and the North 
Cape, in lat. 74*36^ where the climate cannot be much less 
rigorous, a fern belonging to the genus Pecopteris has been 
detected. Even in Melville Island, in N. lat. 76*", where the 
mean t^jmperature is at present the lowest yet determined, 
being only 1*24° above zero, coal plants have been discovered, 
such as Schizopteris, which bears much analogy, Dr. Lindley 
says, to certain ferns of the present day,* 

Nor do these cases stand alone ; for we shall see, when 
referring to more modern formations, that similar indications 
of a climate warmer than the present are afforded by the 
fossil plants of North Greenland. I am aware that Dr. Joseph 
Hooker considers a climate such as that of New Zealand 
well calculated for the growth of ferns, not only from the 
variety and luxuriance of the herbaceous species found in 
these islands, but also from the size of the arborescent, 
one of which, CycUhea dealbata, rises to the height of 40 
feet. But the existence of this tribe must be considered in 
connection with that of the gigantic LycapodiuTns, Equiseta, 
etc., associated with it ; and, at any rate, the occurrence of 
New Zealand pines in the northern latitudes alluded to would 
be scarcely less a marvel than that of the more decided 
tropical species which have been discovered there in a fossil 
state. 

Amongst the Permian rocks tree ferns have also been 
detected in Saxony; so that, in the absence of other counter- 
vailing evidence, we may fairly conclude that the temperature 
existing during the coal formation continued during that 
period. 

In the Trias or New Red, we meet with vegetable remains 
in many respects similar to those of the coal ; but in addi- 
tion occur specimens of fossil Cyeadea^ sufficiently resembling 
existing ones, to leave in the mind no such doubt, as exists 
with respect to the Sigillarise^ on the question of their 
affinities. 

Now, we have seen that Cycadeae at present range be- 
tween the Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Archipelago, 
or betwixt the temperature of 78'' and 60^, and that there is 

* Foenl Fkia, toL ii 



272 ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ANTIBNT WORLD. 

even a sti-aggler fouud as low as New Zealand, of which the 
mean is 52"*. 

We should, therefore, reckon the temperature most suitable 
to the plants which flourished during the Trias period as not 
less than 65^ judging by the tree ferns and the cycads which 
abound in it; so that no apparent sinking in the heat of the 
globe seems to be traceable up to this period of its progress. 

In the Lyas, remains of zamias, of ferns, and of conifers 
of the araucarian type also occur; so that the same high 
temperature would seem to have continued into this forma- 
tion. 

And the same may be inferred also with respect to the 
Oolite. Here specimens of an araucaria are to be met with; 
but with these are associated a kind of pandanus, called 
Podocarya, 

Now the pandaneae, or screw pines, occur at present abun- 
dantly in the Mauritius, the Philippine Islands, and Java» 
none of which countries possess a mean temperature of less 
than 78° of Fahrenheit. Indeed, the pandanese seem to thrive 
in a heat greater than is congenial even to tree ferns ; for in 
tropical regions the former grow at the level of the sea, 
whereas the latter only appear as we ascend to a certain 
height up the slopes of the mountains (Meyen). 

It must, however, be admitted, that Freyceneiia, a kind of 
pandanus, is found in Norfolk Island, to which we have 
ascribed a temperature of only 60°, and even at New Zealand 
in 52°. If we were to take the mean of the two, we should 
assign a temperature of 65" to the period of the Oolite, but 
as araucarias are also met with, we may perhaps attribute to 
the Oolite a temperature of 60°, in the latitudes of France, 
Germany, and England, where these plants have been 
collected. 

In the Wealden, Cycases abound, so that if this fact stood 
alone, we could liardly fix the temperature lower than 65^ 
As, however, tree ferns and certain conifers are also met 
with, it may have been somewhat inferior. 

In the Chalk, plants belonging to the New Holland family 
of Proteaccoe first become common. These would seem to 
indicate a somewhat lower temperature than the plants found 
in the older formations; for whilst they abound about Mel- 
bourne, in Australia, which possesses a mean of 57°, and at 
the Cape of Good Hope, where it is somewhat under 60°, 
they also <;row in Tasmania, which does not exceed 52°. It 
might thence be inferred that 56° would be the temperature 
most congenial to them ; but we are warned not to place the 



ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ANTIENT WORLD. 273 

chalk formation period so low in the scale of warmth as this, 
from finding pandanege also amongst its fossil flora. Now the 
lowest temperature in which a pandanus is known to grow in 
a state of nature — namely, the Freycenetia — is 52°, and the 
highest, as we have seen, 78° — mean 65^ Nor do we find 
any symptoms of a cooler condition of the globe even 
when we first enter upon the Tertiary period. On the con- 
trary, in the Upper Eocene, in the latitude of London, we 
meet, for the first time, with ananas; and not only do 
pandaneae, but also palms (such as Nipa), appear in the strata. 
Now palms, even more than pandanuses, are at present 
characteristic of the tropics. We cannot say, indeed what 
may be the utmost extreme of heat that they would be 
capable of supporting; for they flourish even at the equator; 
but the extreme of cold seems to be fixed by finding a few 
stragglers, such as the Chamcerops humilis, in Italy, as at 
Rome and Nice, in a mean temperature of 58°. 

The palmetto, at Charlestown, in South Carolina, enjoys a 
mean temperature of 66°; the chusan palm of China, one 
somewhat lower; for the mean of its winter temperature is 
40*9°; of its summer heat, 67 8°. The mean between the 
temperature of the equator, which is 80°, and that of Italy, 
which is 58°, would be 69°; but, for the reason above assigned, 
it would not be safe to place the temperature most congenial 
to the growth of palms quite so low ; and it must, at any rate, 
be admitted, that the vegetation of the London clay indicates 
a temperature little, if at all, inferior to that of the oldest 
rocks which have been explored. 

In the Miocene, however, some indications of incipient 
cooling seem discernible. Professor Heer, of Zurich, enume- 
rates in this formation, at (Eningeu, on the lake of Constance, 
85 plants referable to a tropical climate, 266 to a sub-tropical, 
and 151 to a temperate one; so that he fixes upon the climate 
of Madeira as the one which makes the nearest approach to 
such a flora; but as this island possesses a mean of 67° 
Fahrenheit, I should be inclined to place it somewhat lower. 

Let us, however, inquire a little further as to the particular 
plants met with. Amongst the natives of temperate climes 
are found the maple, the plane, and the vine : the first, a tree 
possessing a considerable range of distribution, although 
found in very northern latitudes, as in Canada and on the 
Bavarian mountains, growin*^ at the height of nearly 4900 
feet; the second, most luxuriant in the south of Europe, Asia 
Minor, &c., although it will grow much farther north; the 
third possessing a wide geographical range, from a tempera- 

VOL. II. T 




274 ON THE TEMFBRATURB OF THE AIITIKMT WOUUO. 

tare of 62^ to one of 51"; for it luxuriates in Sioily^ the 
Grecian Archipelago, and Syria» and bears firait as fiu noith 
as Paris, Dresden, Coblentz, and even Frankfort-upon-Oder. 
The mean temperature therefore most congenial to it may be 
fixed at 56-5^ 

Amongst the sub-tropical we may best instance the mo- 
teas, for the liriodendra perhaps can hardly be regarded as 
so tender; and amongst the tropical, are the cinnamon, the 
sabid^ the chamoerops. 

Such, at least, is the fossil flora of (Eningen ; and Professor 
Heer has shewn that that of Bovey Tiacey, a locality so 
elaborately worked out by your President^ and belonging 
to the same formation, is similarly circumstanced. 

Here the leafy trees of most frequent occurrence were two 
cinnamons, an evergreen oak, such as are now seen in MezioOy 
evemeen figs, an arborescent fern pecopteris ligniium^ a palm 
simiLir to the Botang, which twines round the trees in 
the tropics, and, above all, the sequoia coutsi®, allied to the 
Wellingtonia of California. These indicate a warm, bat not 
a tropi^ climate, agreeing in most respects with the flora of 
OSningen. The hsTCliness of the Wellingtonia in partioalar 
would indicate that its analogue, the Sequoia, could have stood 
frost. But Professor Heer has found the same formation at 
I^orth Greenland, in north latitude of 70°, where the mean 
temperature at the present time is about iff Fahrenheit, 
Even here zamias, sequoias, salisburias, proteas, myrtles, 
magnolias, laurels, ivies, oaks, and planes have been dis- 
covered, the majority of which indicate a temperate climate, 
but none are compatible with the existence of rigorous winters. 

From the general character of the vegetation. Professor 
Heer concludes that the mean annual temperature of North 
Greenland could not have been less than 49"" Fahrenheit, 
which is about that of London. The presence of zamias, pro- 
teas, and myrtles would rather incline us to give it one some- 
what higher ; but, at any rate, on comparing the flora with 
that existing during the coal formation in still higher latitudes, 
such as Melville Island, Bear Island, &c., the inference would 
seem to be, that some diminution in the general heat of 
the globe had by this time taken place ; and this would be 
confirmed by the oscillations from heat to cold which now 
begin to show themselves. 

During the period of the chalk formation, indeed, Sir 
Charles Lyell sees reason to believe that a period of great 
cold had set in ; and Professor Eamsey has even discovered, 
as he thinks, traces of the same during the Permian period. 



ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ANTIENT WORLD. 275 

I imagine, however, the latter statement will be received with 
some scepticism, until other similar cases of an equally 
remote date have been detected ; but as we are now approach- 
ing that geological period in which undoubted evidences of 
glacial action are recognised, less scruple need be felt in 
admitting that similar oscillations may have occurred some- 
what earlier. 

At Croydon, then, Mr. God win- Austen has detected in the 
white chalk fragments of syenite, which he supposes to have 
been transported there by ice, and in the Eocene, Sir C. Lyell 
notices a glacial period, although he speaks doubtfully on 
the subject. 

He however pronounces more confidently with regard to the 
evidence afforded by the hill of the Superga, near Turin, as to 
the existence of the same in that part of Italy during the 
upper Miocene epoch. The proofs of this fact are derived 
from the presence of large angular blocks washed out of the 
Miocene beds in the immediate neighbourhood, which exhibit 
some such faint striae and polished surfaces as might be pro- 
duced by ice. But this inference has not yet been confirmed by 
the discovery of organic remains indicating an arctic climate. 
At any rate, the climate of Europe recovered some part of 
its former heat during the earliest Pliocene epoch ; for here 
the strata in Great .Britain and in the sub-Appenine strata of 
Italy exhibit species of shells which belong in great part to 
forms largely developed in equinoctial regions, so that we 
cannot assign to them a temperature lower, at least, than that 
of the Mediterranean. 

With the lower Pliocene we appear to take leave of those 
indications of a higher temperature than the present, which 
are so remarkably displayed in the earlier formations of the 
earth's crust. 

From this time the temperature appears to have been 
getting gradually colder, although even here oscillations of 
heat and cold have been suspected, as is the case near Zurich, 
where the beds of lignite led Professor Heer to conclude, that 
the climate was not more severe than at present, although 
preceded, as well as followed, by indications of an arctic 
temperature. 

These have been so much dwelt upon, that I will not 
lengthen out this paper by any details of the evidence which 
have led geologists to suspect a polar climate to have pre- 
vailed over the greater part of the northern hemisphere, 
except to observe, that at Bovey Tracey we find covering the 
lignite beds, which, as we have seen, indicate a warm tempera- 

T 2 



276 ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE AimiMT WORLD 

ture, beds resting iincoDformably upon them, in which the 
dwarf birch and other vegetable remains seem to shew that 
an arctic climate prevailed. 

The evidence in favour of a glacial period may be seen in 
a collected form in the last edition of Lyell's Princqdea; bni 
with respect to the degree of cold which existed at this lime, 
mach difiTerence of opinion still prevails; some^ I believe^ 
contending that a mean temperature, only about 18^ degrees 
lower than the present^ would account for all the glacial 
phenomena exhibited in this island ; others, like Mr. Prest wioh, 
a high authority on such matters, concluding, that even daiing 
the period of the drift and cave deposits, when the intensi^ 
of the cold was somewhat abating, a temperature prevailed 
in the vidley of the Thames 2(f colder than at present^ or 
about 3(f of Fahrenheit 

If such be the case, the geographical causes upon which 
Sir C. LyeU, in the earlier editions more especially of hit 
Principles, laid so much stress, will hardly prove competent 
to exfuain the intensity of the cold which so generally pre- 
vailed throughout the northern hemisphere, and hence the 
distinguished author has in his last edition insisted much 
upon the vicissitudes which might be due to astronmicol 
causea 

The table he has given of the variations in temperatuve 
which may have taken place during the last million of years 
owing to the varying eccentricity of the earth's orbit, as in* 
ferred from the computations of Mr. CroU, shews that di£Fer- 
ences might have occurred in the distance of the earth from 
the sun sufficient to create in one extreme case a mean tem- 
perature of 7"* below zero in the latitude of London during 
the coldest month, whilst, on the contrary, the same cause 
might be competent in other cases to elevate the summer 
heat to no less than 126°. 

Now the present temperature of the hottest month in 
London is only 68°, and that of the coldest 38" of Fahrenheit; 
so that our present condition may perhaps be r^[arded as an 
exceptional one. 

. The table is so curious, that I have sought to render the 
information it conveys somewhat more palpable, by represent- 
ing in a diagram, by means of curved lines, the degrees of 
heat calculated to have existed at each of these periods ; but, 
although the results afford ample room for speculation 
they do not appear to accord with any view of the distri- 
bution of temperature which the researches of geology have 
as yet brought to light. 



)M OF YEARS BEFORE AD. 1600. 

X** EDinON.J 




llH|(5vi Li«nji»l-T4UKUp^4«n.:Ml 



f 



ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ANTIENT WORLD. 277 

Sir Charles Lyell — and on this point most modern geolo- 
gists perhaps will concur with him — believes the period 
occupied in building up the crust of the globe, from the first 
appearance of life upon it till the present age, to have been 
so vast, that we may fix the glacial period, the latest epoch 
of any, as far back as 850,000 years before the present time ; 
but it will be seen, by reference to the diagram, that at two 
other more recent dates the earth's temperature was so much 
reduced by the same causes, that similar phenomena might 
be expected to have occurred. 

But all these explanations of the earth's former tempera- 
ture, whether derived from astronomy, or from a supposed 
different distribution of sea and land, labour alike under the 
objection, that they assume the conditions most favourable 
to the production of the effect intended to be present just 
when they were required ; whereas analogy would lead us to 
infer that the opposite set of conditions would occur quite as 
often, and operate in the contrary direction as efficiently. 
We should, therefore, expect that instead of a high tempera- 
ture pervading even the polar regions during incalculable 
periods of time, unbroken, if at all, only by very rare and com- 
paratively short intervals of cold, such transitions would be 
traceable in the organic remains of the older world, as might 
correspond with the great and frequent oscillations of tem- 
perature represented in the diagram. Indeed, if we were at 
liberty to assume an unvarying condition of climate to have 
existed during the whole of the immense period alluded to, 
it would be easy to explain the greater heat of the antient 
globe, by availing ourselves of the principles established by 
Professor Tyndall, and by supposing the earth to have been 
protected by a dense covering of aqueous vapour, which, as 
he has shown, would act like a blanket, and confine the heat 
obtained from the sun in such a manner, as to elevate the 
temperature of the globe in a greater degree than it does at 
present. 

It is on this principle that Professor Phillips and others, 
who have observed that Mars, a planet so much more distant 
from the sun than our earth, nevertheless exhibits, so far as 
the telescope enables us to ascertain, about the same amount 
of snow-covered land, shifting, according to the seasons, like 
our own, from its northern to its southern hemisphere, account 
for the smaller amount of solar heat received by that planet 
being adequate to produce a temperature nearly corresponding 
to that of our earth. 

Or if, as I suggested in my Lectures on Climate, pub- 

T 3 



278 OK THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ANTIENT WORLD. 

lished in 1863, a larger portion of the globe were, in the 
earlier periods of its history, covered with water— an idea in 
accordance with the speculations of the older geologists — ^the 
flow of warm currents proceeding continually from the equator 
to the poles, without' let or hindrance from the interposition 
of Continents, might greatly moderate the cold of the arctic 
regions, and at the same time produce such an approach to 
uniformity in the temperature of the entire globe, as might 
account for the same description of plants being found during 
the period of the coal formation at once in Borneo, and in 
Melville Island. 

But I shall be reminded, that the occurrence of extensive 
beds of conglomerates even in the earliest known strata leads 
to the inference, that continents must have existed even at 
that remote period, so that I am compelled to send back the 
problem for further supervision ; and, indeed, until geologists 
are able to supply me with an explanation less encumbered 
with difficulties than any of those which have been suggested, 
I shall feel myself at liberty to fall back upon the old uieory, 
although it may be one which belongs rather to the domain of 
cosmogony than of geology, which, assuming that the globe 
we inhabit was originally in a state of igneous fusion, from 
which it has gradually cooled down, represents the higher 
temperature ascribed to the earlier portions of the earth's 
crust, as well as the heat still existing in its interior, which 
observations in mines and springs serve to reveal to us, as 
due to the original heat of the globe being only partially 
dissipated into space. 



n\ 



TABLE 11. 

Shewing the character of the Fossil Flora ohserved in different latitudes^ 
during the several successiye periods recognised hy Oeologists. 



PERIODS. 


VEGETABLE REMAINS. 


MOST 
TROPICAL. 


MOST 
TEMPERATE. 


ACTUAL. 


Tempemture of England (Latitude of London) 






RBCENT. 


Temperature in England 20° F. lower than at pre- 
sent. Prestwich, 






PLEISTOCENE. 


above 20' P. Betulanana. Bovey. 






PLEIOCENE. 


Lower. Oreodaphne allied to the modem plant 
of that name. Liquidamber. Tutcanj^. 
Upper. Arctic Planta. 


Oreodaphneb 
about W. 


68* F. 


MEIOCENE. 


(Bningen beds. Proteas, Gljptoatrobus, Smilax, 

Platanu8.Qnercua, Oaatanea, Vma, Vitis, Hedera. 

Bovep Tracep Lignite. Sequoia GouttsiK ; Cupres- 


Proteas. 
about 65» P. 

Vites,6e°. 
ditta ditto. 


FaRia.40«F. 

Quovus. 
Sequoia, fir F. 


EOCENE. 


LondUmOav, Palms, Puidanen ; Ananas. Eng- 
land. 


PtJms, 
about fir F. 


Ptodanen. 
about 65« F. 


CHALK. 


Dicotyledonous plants first appear. Proteaoee being 
the most common. Aix-la-VkapdU. 


Pandanns, 
about 66*>. 


about 65« F. 


WKALDEN. 


but no Angiospermous Diootyledonous plant 
Haitingi. 


Tree -Ferns, 
about 62' JlF. 


ConilbrB. 
about 00^. 


OOLITE. 


Anucarias ; Podocam allied to Psndanus ; Ferns. 
Germany, France, and England. 


Pandanus. 
about 66^ F. 


ArancariaezoelM, 
about STF. 


LYAS. 


Zamias, Ferns, and Conifers. QUmee$ter$Mre, 


Tree -Ferns, 
about eS^A F. 


Conitoi^ 
about 6e°F. 


TRTAS. 


Zamias; Calamites; Equisetacee; and Ferns. 
Virginia, 


Tree -Ferns, 
about ei^Ji F. 


Zamias, 
about eO«F. 


PERMIAN. 


Tree-ferns. Saxony. 


Tree-Fems, 
about e2«JJF. 




COAL 
MEASURES. 


Ferns, often of arborescent Genera; Lepidoden- 
dra of great size ; Equisetaoen of gigantic propor- 

perhsiM Crcads ; Conifers of the type of Arau- 
caria. MelviUe island, N.Lai. 74. Bear Island, 


Tree-Fems. 
about 62° J(F. 


ConiflanB 
(Annouria), 
abontOO>P. 


DEVONIAN. 


oopodiaceous plant (Psyl(q>hytum). In one in- 
stance an Angiosperm. Canada and U. 8, 


Tree-Fems. 

temperature most 

probably about 




CAMBRIAN 
AND SILURIAN. 


OnlyAlge. 







< 



!\ 

















► 


' 


INe TME SEVERAL GEOLOGICAL PEIflOOS BELOW EMUMEIWttD, 
GATHERED VHQVk TME CHARACTER OF THEIR FOSSIL FLORA, 








PRIMARY. 




TEKP 
82 


C^ 


t^ 


TRIAi. 


PLRMIAM, 


COAL 

ttUkSURtS. 


DEVOMIAN 


SLUURIAH k 
CAM BRUM. 


TLMR 
82 




77 


Km 

Hmfl 














77 


68 


Can 














68 


53 






^^^ 




mp^^ 






59 














50 
















^ 1 


41 


Bull 
Stod 














41 


32 


aw 

Him 














32 


23 


NO 






Jhiuw 




1 , 




23 


ij 


Bobs 

BR 








1 


ll 




fj 


B 


1*- 








' 


* 




5 





^ 








* 





















i%iswU]o] 


atedJLdLLsiilj 


^%C 



1 



m 






1 



^ 



■i'-i 



!• 



I- 



• i 



;/■ ;/ 



ON 



THE PAKT TMEN BY NORTH DEVON IN THE EARLIEST 

ENGLISH ENTERPRISES FOR THE PURPOSE OF 

COLONIZING AMERICA. 



BY KICHABD WILLIAM COTrON. 



To Devonshire belongs the credit of having sent out the first 
expedition which left the shores of CJreat Britain for the 
purpose of founding a colony in the New World. The object 
of this paper is to show, briefly, the part taken by North 
Devon in that enterprise, and to throw some new light upon 
an incident which led to its miscaniage and retarded for 
about twenty years the actual settlement of the English in 
North America. 

The expedition, which was fitted out at the cost of our 
brilliant countryman Sir Walter lialeigh, under a patent 
obtained from Queen Elizabeth, sailed from Plymouth in the 
year 1585, and its destination was the newly- discovered 
territory in North America, to which the gallantry of the 
Court of Elizabeth had given the name of Virginia. Sir 
Richard Grenville, a cousin of Sir Walter, and a North Devon 
man, was "general** of the fleet. That this was not a mere 
buccaneering expedition, as has been supposed, I think is 
evident from the description given of its character by an 
authority which I shall presently quote: the little fleet 
carried " one hundred householders, and many things neces- 
sary to b^n a new State." The expedition, in July, landed 
and occupied the island of Ronoake, contiguous to a country 
which in the native language was called Wingandacoa, 
Virginia, it should be stated, has shrunk from its fonner 
limits, and the scene of this transaction lies, in reality, in 
what is now the State of North Carolina. Sir Richard 
Orenville returned to England, and arrived at Plymouth in 
October, and, in conjunction with Sir Walter Raleigh, seems 
to have at once set about making preparations for reinforcing 
the infant colony in the spring of the following year. The 



280 THE PABT TAKEN BT NOBTH DEVON IN THE EARUEBT 

vessels intended for this service were fitted out in the estuary 
of the Taw and Torridge, in the then port of Barnstaple, 
which Sir Bichard Grenville overlooked from his house at 
Tapelev. They were about to carry not only provisions for 
the r^ef of the colonists in their first difficulties but 
additional emigrants from North Devon. This brings us to 
the early months of the year 1586. We will now see how it 
fared at this time with the settlement in Viiginia» which had 
been planted in the previous year. I shall quote from the 
history of these transactions as handed down to us by 
William Strachey, first Secretary of the colony (permanently 
established some years later)^ and printed by the Hakluyt 
Society in 1849. "After the colony had laboured . . . eleaven 
monthes, expecting the returne of their generall with a franck 
and new supplye out of England, and being in some wants 
for necessarye and fresh victualls, had dispersed themselves 
into sondry parts of the countrye, the better to be fitted and 
accommodated with the provisions thereof. . . . about the 
beginning of June" they "escried a great fleet of many 
shippes uppon the coasts . . . found to be Sir Fraunces Drake 
and his company, returning home this way from tiie sacking 
of St. Domingo, Carthagena, and St Augustine, who, sending 
his boats off to Roanoak, and having intelligence from the 
govemour of the condicion of which the colony then stood, 
of their many wants, and daylie expectance of supply from 
England (the generall, by promise, appointing to have bene 
there by the first of the spring), Sir Fraunces Drake, much 
commending their patience and noble spiritts, and applauding 
so good an accion, consulted with his captaiiies, and con- 
cluded to leave them a barke of seventy tonne, called the 
Frauncis, to serve them upon occasions, with two pinnaces, 
four small boats, and two experimented sea maisters, Abraham 
Kendall and Griffeth Heme, to tarry with them, with a supply 
of collivers, hand-weapons, match, lead, tooles, apparell, and 
such like, with victualls for one hundred men for four 
monthes." But storaiy weather having set in, and fears 
being entertained that the vessels would not find sufficient 
shelter to enable them to winter on that coast, "the deter- 
minacion of all was altered, and yt was conceaved more con- 
venient to take in all the planters and come for England, 
which, unhappely, was accordingly performed, and soe, the 
19th of June setting saile, the 27th of July they arrived in 
Portsmouth, Anno 1586.''* 

♦ "The Hifltorie of Travaile into Virginia Britannia." H. S., 1849, 
p. 147, et aeq. 



ENGLISH ENTERPRISES FOR COLONIZING AMERICA. 281 

I will next compare with this narrative a passage from the 
diary of a local chronicler, Philip Wyot, Town Clerk of 
Barnstaple at the latter end of the sixteenth century, which 
has been recently edited by Mr. J. R Chanter. Under date 
of the year 1586 he records : — 

"16 Ap. Year afores* Sir Richard Greynvylle sailed over the 
barr with his flee boat and friget, but for want of sufiic^ water 
on the barr, being neare upon neape, he left his ship. This Sir 
Richard Greynvylle pretended his goiuge to Wyugandecora, where 
he was last year."* 

"Pretended" is here of course used in its now obsolete sense 
of intended. To be beneaped on Barnstaple Bar is a disaster 
not unknown in these days ; but on the momentous occasion 
noticed by Wyot it was the direct cause of the breaking up 
of the first English settlement in America and of the catas- 
trophe yet to be narrated, and it put oft* for several years the 
commencement of the history of the United States; for, 
allowing the ordinary length of five or six weeks for the 
voyage, had it not been so prematurely checked, Sir Richard 
Grenville would have reached Ronoake before the date when, 
as we have seen, the colonists, despairing of succour from 
England, had been brought away by Sir Francis Drake. 

Sir Richard (to continue the narrative of Strachey) "ar- 
rived with his three shippes, well appointed, and not finding 
. . . any newes of the English colony (himself travelling 
up into divers places of the country), yet unwilling to losse 
the possession of the same, after good deliberacion, he left 
fifteen men in the islands of Roanoak, furnished plentifully 
with all manner of provision for two yeares, and departed 
agayne for England. These checks found this pious busines 
even in her early dales and first begynning ; howbeyt, yt did 
not yet make weary the forward mynd of Sir W. Raleigh to 
have this country by a full possession added unto our owne, 
who, therefore, prepared a fourth voyage and a new colony of 
one hundred and fifty howsholders, who, the 18th of May 
in the yeare following, 1587, weyed anchor from Plymouth, 
under the charg of John White, whome he appointed gover- 
nour, and also appointed unto him twelve assistents, unto 
whome he gave a charter, and incorporated them by the 
name of Govemour and Assistents of the city Raleigh, in 
Virginia, — which fleet, consisting of three sayle, the 22nd of 
July following, arrived at Hatarask, where they came to an 
anchor. From whence, the govemour, accompanied with 

* "Chanter's Literary History of Barnstaple.*' Barnstaple, 1866. 



282 ENGLISH ENTERPRISES FOR OOLONIZINO AMERIOA. 

forty of his best men, in a small pynnace, stood in for 
Boanoak, meaning to take in the aforesaid fifteen men left 
there by Sir Richard Greenvile the yeare before, and so to 
alter their seat unto the Chesapeak Bay, according to direc- 
tions from Sir \V. Raleigh; but the govemour, being over- 
ruled by some of the company, was diverted from that 
purpose, and in a manner constrained to seeke no further, 
but to sett downe in that island againe, who accordingly 
brought all the planters and provisions ashoare, where they 
beganne to fitt and accommodate themselves. Nor could 
they heare of any of the aforesaid fifteen, but found of the 
bones of one : and the people of Groatan gave our people to 
understand how they were slayne, sett upon by thirty of the 
men of the Sequota, Aquascogoc, and Dasamoquepeuk, con- 
veying themselves upon a tyme secretly behind the trees 
neere the bowses, where our men carelessly lived, and in 
the encounter, knockt out the braynes of one with a woodden 
sword, and killed another with an arrowe shot into the 
mouth of him, whilst the rest fled to the water's side, where 
their boat laye, and all of them taking the boat^ rowed 
towards Hatarask, and re-landed on a little island on the 
right-hand of our entrance into the harbour of Hatarask, 
where they remayned a while, but afterward departed* and 
could never after be heard of" 

I have quoted this passage at length, because a touching 
local interest naturally attaches itself to the minutely re- 
corded details of the fate of these unfortunate emigrants 
from North Devon, the ancestors, it may be, of many now 
living in the district. 

The expedition under Governor White came to a similar 
disasti-ous issue. The next year was the memorable one of 
1588, and a further fleet, for the relief of the Virginian colony, 
which was again fitted out in the North of Devon by Sir Bichard 
Grenville, was stayed by order of the Privy Council in the 
pressing national emergency in the spring of that year, and 
eventually sailed over Barnstaple Bar, not for its original 
destination, but, to do good service against the Spanish 
Armada in the great fray in the English Channel This is 
the bare but sufficiently striking incident which has been 
invested with all the charms of romance by the graphic and 
spirit-stirring pen of the author of "Westward Ho!" The 
last Virginian colony of Sir Walter Baleigh was left to its 
fate. 



ON A CORNISH KJOKKENMODDING. 



BY C. SPENCE BATE, F.B.8., ETC. 



[abstract.] 

The author communicated to the society some further re- 
seaTches that he had made iu the shell mound at Constantine 
Bay, near Padstow, in Cornwall, of which he gave an account 
to the society when it met at Torquay. 

During the present summer he has made more extensive 
excavations, and examined the line of coast along the bay 
for a considerable distance. 

He found that the shell mound rested upon an old sea 
terrace, on which in some places the hardened sand of the 
antient sea beach still existed, but its character was hard and 
petrous, and totally unlike that of the sand found covering 
and underlying the shell bed. On the island in the bay the 
shells were found to be very extensively spread out, at the 
distance of about a foot beneath the surface ; and in a hollow 
on the sea side of the island, flints, both perfect and chipped, 
were found in abundance, but amongst them not a single 
flake of the knife or arrow-head type could be discovered. 

On the eastern side of the bay, nearer to Trevose Head, on 
the top of the cliff, for a distance of about forty or fifty 
yards, and within eight or ten of the edge of the cliff, where 
the surface-soil had been removed for agricultural purposes, 
abundance of flint flakes were found, and amongst them were 
many typically perfect knives and arrow-heads ; and one of 
the former had the appearance of having been artificially 
made into a saw, so regular were the notches on its margin ; 
many of them had been under the action of fire. 

But in the kjokkenmodding itself the flints were few, some 

■ three or four specimens only having been found. Whilst, 

beside what he has previously described, he found pottery of 

different patterns, but all very coarse in structure ; the core 

of bullocks' horns, that had the markings of the rude instru- 



284 ON A COBNISH KJOKKENMODDINO. 

ments used in cutting them off from the skull of the animal ; 
teeth of the deer, sheep, dog, horse, and ox, and some bone 
implements of neat workmanship, one being a pin about 
eight inches in length, another shorter, having more the 
cmiracter of an awl, about four inches in length, the tiiioker 
end of which has its end ornately cut ; and a third specimen 
consisted of a flat bone implement, somewhat like a rude 
modem paper knife, smoothly polished on one side, but only 
smoothed off on the other. This implement was broken, 
probably in its excavation, and a portion of the middle lost 

The author hopes from time to time to have an opportunity 
of making further explorations into this interesting relict of 
antiquity, and of laying the same before this society. 



pLTMorxn : 

PRINTED BT WII.LTAX BREXDON, 9TEAV FREW, 
OKOROR STREET. 



EEPOKT AND TRANSACTIONS 



DEVONSHIRE ASSOCIATION 



THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, LITERATUEE. 
AND AKT. 



THONITON, JULY, 1868.] 



VOL II. PART II. 



LONDON: 

TATLOK ft FEA1TCI8, RED LION COTJET, FLEET STREET. 

PLYMOUTH : W. BKENDON, GEORGE 8TBEET. 

1868. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

List of Officers ........ y 

List of Members ........ vil 

Bje-Laws ........ xi 

Beport ........ xiv 

Baknee Sheet ........ xvi 

The President's Address ....... 285 

Obitua&t Notices. Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny, m.d., f.b.b. 303 

Sir J. Brooks, K.c.n. .... 308 

On the Salmonidffi of Devon. By Dr. Scott . . . .312 

Pasuge of the Mount Cenis. By George Neumann, m.i.c.e., etc. . 327 

On the Mineral Localities of Devonshire. By Townshend M. Hall, f.q.s. 332 

The Science of History. By J. Erskine Bisk, m.a. . . . 347 

The Evidences of Glacial Action in South Devon. By E. Vivian . 367 
On Vagrancy. By E. Vivian, j.p. . . . . .361 

On Pr^ctive Meteorology. By Wentworth W. Buller . . . 364 
On Hill Fortresses, Sling-stones, and other Antiquities of South-eastern 

Devon. By Peter Orlando Hutchinson .... 372 
On the Pseudomorphous Crystals of Chloride of Sodium, and their occur- 
rence in Devonshire. By G. Wareing Ormerod, m.a., f.g.s. . . 383 
The Antiquity of the use of the Metals, and especially of Lron, among 

the Egyptians. By Basil Henry Cooper, b.a. . . . 386 
On the Condition of some of the Bones found in Kent's Cavern, near 

Torquay, Devonshire. By "W. Pengelly, F.R.S., f.o.s., etc. . . 407 
The Submerged Forest and the Pebble Bidge of Barnstaple Bay. By W. 

Pengelly, r.R.8., f.o.s., etc. . . . . . .415 

The History of the Discovery of Fossil Fish in the Devonian Bocks of 

Devon and Cornwall. By W. Pengelly, p.r.s., f.o.s., etc. . . 423 
On the Marine and Fresh Water Sponges of Devonshire. By Edward 

Parfitt, M.E.S. . . . . .443 

On the Game of Chess. By James Jerwood, m.a., f.o.s., f.cp.s., etc. . 462 
The Literature of Kent's Cavern, Torquay, prior to 1869. By "W. 

Pengelly, f.r.8., f.o.s., etc. ...... 469 

The PhUosophy of Verbal Monopoly. By Dr. A. V. W. Bikkers . 623 
J£onl and Pecuniary Bcsults of Prison Labour. By Sir John Bowring, 

LL.D., ETC. ....... 531 

What is Capital ? By W. B. Hodgson, ll.d. . . . .560 

The Bain&ll in Devonshire during 1866 and 1867. By W. Pengelly, 

F.B.S., F.Q.S., ETC. ....... 560 

On the Application of the Calculus of Probabilities to Legal and Judicial 

Subjects. By James Jerwood, m.a., f.o.s., f.cp.s., etc. . . 578 

Sanitary Notes. — Sewer Ventilation. By Edward Appleton, f.i.b.a. . 599 

Notes on the Blight of Com, with Suggestions for their Extermination. 

By the Bev. R. Kirwan, m.a., Rector of Gittisham . . .610 

Memoir of the Examination of Three Barrows at Broad Down, Farway, 

near Honiton. By the Bev. B. Kirwan, m.a., Bector of Gittisham . 619 



A 2 



OFFICERS. 

1868-69. 



{Irrubcnt. 
J. D. COLERIDOE, Esq., m.a., m.p., Q.a 

9icc-!|)rcftbenis. 

W. R. BAYLEY, Esa. 

A. B. COCHRANE, Esq., m.p. THE RIGHT HON. SIR J. T. COLERIDGE. 

J. GOLDSMID, Esq., m.p. C. GORDON, Esq. 

D. GOULD, Esq., THE WORSHIPFUL THE MAYOR OP 

HONITON. 

SIR J. KENNAWAY, Bart. G. NEUMANN, Esq. 

W. PENGELLY, Esq., p.b.8. Rb>'. PREBENDARY MACKARNESS, m.a. 

W. PORTER, Esq. 

JQon. Crtainrrr. 
E. VIVIAN, Esq., Ibr^May. 

Dion. 6eiitral J^tcidars. 
Rev. W. HARPLEY, m.a., p.c.p.8., ClayKangery TiverUm, 

Don. IfataX Srtainrtr. 
E. WETHEY, Esq. 

Hon. 3ro(aI iSecretBiiff. 
Rev. R. KIRWAN, m.a. Rev. H. K. VENN, mji. 

^nbUors of Jcconntf. 
R APPLETON, Esq., p.i.b.a. G. K HEARDER, Esq. 



APPLETON, E. A. 
A8U. F. 
BARHAM. T. F. 
BATE, C. 8PENCE 
BAYLEY, W. R. 
BERRY, R. 
BIDDER, O. P. 
BIKKER8, A. V. W. 
BOWRINO. SIR J. 
BUTLER. W. W. 
CANN. W. 

OHAMPERNOWNE, A. 
CHANTER, J. R. 
COLERIDGE, SIR J. T. 
COLERIDGE, J. D. 
COOPER, B. 
COTTON, R. W. 
COTTON. W. 
DAW, C. H. 
ELLIS, H. 8. 
FOWLER, H. 



H. A. 



Conncil. 
FOX, 8. B. 
FROUDE, W. 
GAMLEN, W. 
OILL. H. S. 
OOLDSMID. J. 
GORDON, C. 
GOULD, D. 
HALL, T. M. 
HAMILTON. A. 
HARPLEY, W. 
HEARDER. J. N. 
HINE, J. E. 
HODGSON. W. B. 
HUTCHINSON. P. O. 
JERWOOD. J. 
JOHNSTON, C. 
KENNAWAY, SIR J. 
KINGDON, A. S. 
KIRWAN, R. 
MACKKNZIK, F. 
NEUMANN, G. 



ORMEROD, O. W. 
PARFITT, E. 
PARRY, J. A. 
PENGELLY, W. 
PORTER, W. 
PYCROFT, G. 
RISK, J. E. 
ROWE, J. B. 
RUSSELL, RIGHT HON. 

EARL 
SCOTT, W. B. 
8C01T, W. R. 
8EALE, SIR H. B. 
STEWART, C. 
THO.MPSON, J. 
TRACK Y, J. 
VICARY, W. 
VIVIAN, E. 
VENN, H. K. 
WETHEY, E. 



LIST OF MEMBERS. 



Appleton, Edward, f.lb.a., GoUwold Torquay, 
Ash, F., Dartmouth. 
Ashley, E., Uoniton, 
Ashley, J., Uoniton, 
Avery, James, Uoniton, 

jBabbage, Charles, m.a., p.r.8., <kc., 1, Dorset Square^ Manchester 

Square^ London, 
Barham, T. F., m.d., Uighweek, Newton Abbot, 
Barnes, Rev. Prebendary, H.A., The Vicarage, St, Mary Churchy 

Torquay, 
Bastard, S. S., Summerland Place, Exeter, 
Bate, C. Spence, F.R.S., F.L.S., d^c, 8, Mulgrave Place, Plymouth, 
Bayly* John, Brunswick Terrace, Plymouth, 
Bayly, Richard, Plymouth. 

Bayley, W. K., Cot ford Uouse, Sidbury, Sidmouth, 
Berry Richard, Clhagford, 
Bidder, GeorJ;e P., g.e., Ravensbury, Dartmouth, 
Bikkers, A. V. W., ph.d., Plymouth, 
Blackmore, Humphrey, Garston, Torquay, 
Booth, W., Liswoniy, Torquay, 
Bom, Thomas, Brook Street, Tavistock, 
Bowring, Sir John, ll.d., f.r.8., dec., Claremont House, Exeter, 
Brent, R. m.d., Woodbury, 
Buller, W. W., Strete Raleigh, Whimple, Exeter, 

Gann, William, West of England Insurance Office, Exeter, 

♦Carpenter-Gamier, J., Mount Tavy, Tavistock, 

Cawdle, W., Union Street, Torquay, 

Champemowne, A., DartingUm Uouse, Totnes, 

Chanter, J. R, FoH UiU, Barnstaple, 

Clark, Henry, Edgcumbe, Milton Abbot, Tavistock, 

Cochrane, A. B. m.p., 26, Wilton Crescent, London, 

Coleridge, Sir J. T., Ueath*s CouH, Ottery St, Mary, 

Coleridge, J. D., m.^.^ m.p., Q.a, 6, Southwick Crescent, London, W, 

t Honorary Member. 



vm 

Colley, J., Portland Square, Plymouth, 

Collier, W. F., Wood Town, Horrabridge, 

Cooper, B. H., b.a., Clydesdale Villa y Paignton Road, Torqwiy, 

Copplestone, Rev. J. G., m.a., Off well Rectory, Honiton, 

Coirie, A. J., Glenallon, Torquay, 

Cotton, R. W., Barnstaple, 

Cotton, W., Pennsylvania, Exeter, 

Creed, J., Whiddon, Newton Abbot, 

Cresswell, C. H., Heavitree, Exeter, 

Daw, C. H., Parkwood, Tavistock, [Tracey. 

Divett, John, President of the Teign Naturalists^ Field Clvd), Biyoey 

Doe, G., Torrington, 

Donne, B. J. M., Boxmore, Torquay, 

Drewe, E. S., The Grange, Honiton. 

Dunstone, J. J., b.a., Barnstaple, 

Dunint, R., Slharpham, Totnes, 

Eberlein, Herr, 5, Elm Grove, St. Leonardos, Exeter, 
Elliott, W. H., M.D., Bouverie ILnise, St. Leonardos Exeter. 
Ellis, H. S., F.R.A.S., 1, Fair Park, Exeter, 
Evanson, R. T., m.d., Homehurst, Torquay, 
Every, W., Uoiiiton, 

Farleigh, R., Barnstaple, 

Finch, T., f.r.a.s., m.r.c.s., Westvdle, St, Mary Church, Toi-qiAay. 

Fortescuo, Right Hon. Earl, Castle Hill, Southmolton. 

Fowler, H., Torrington. 

Fox, S. B., Southern hay, Exeter. 

Fronde, W., Chehton Cross, Torquay. 

Gamlen, W. H., Bramford Sj^eke, Exeter. 

Gill, H. S., Tiverton. 

Gill, J. H., The Bank, Tavistock. 

Gill, Rev. W., Venn, Lamerton, Tavistock. 

Goldsmid, J., m.a., m.p., 40, Grosvenor Street, London, W, 

Gordon, C, Wiscombe Park, Honiton, 

Gould, D., Honiton. 

Grainger, Rev. G. Watts, m.a. Luppit Vicarage, Honiton. 

Griffith, Rev. D., 24, Taxham Villas, Chelteiihanu 

Guppy, T. W. M. W., Barnstaple. 

Gwatkin, Rev. R., b.d., f.g.s., Burntwood Lodge, Torqu<iy. 

Hall, Townshend M., f.o.s., Piltoa, Barnstaple. 

Hamilton, A. H. A., President of the Exeter Naturalists' Club, 

Millbrook<\, Exfttr. 
Harland, C. J., f.a.s.l., Newhobn, Torquay. 
Harper, J., Barnstaple. 



IX 

Harpley, Rev. W., m.a., p.c.p.s., Clayhanger Rectory^ Tiverton, 

Haycock, W. Hine, Sidmrmth, 

Hearder, G. E., Torwood Street^ Torquay. 

Hearder, J. N., Union Street^ Plymouth, 

Hearder, W., Rocombe, Torquay, 

Heberden, Rev. W., m.a., Broadhembwy Vicarayc, Honitoit, 

Hedgelaudy Rev. J. W., m.a., St, Leonarcrs, Exeter, 

Hine, J. E., f.i.b.a., 7, Mulgrave. Flace, Plymouth, 

Hodgson, W. B., ll.d., 41, Grove End Road, London^ N,W, 

Hore, Rev. W. S., m.a., Barnstaple, 

Home, T. B., m.r.c.s., Adwell, Torquay, 

Hughes, Rev. J. B., Grammar School, Tiverton, 

Hunt, A. R, M.A., Quintilla, Torqtuty. 

Hutchinson, P. 0., Sidmouth. 

Jerrard, J. C, lloniton, 

Jerwood, J., m.a., f.o.s., f.c.p.s., 1, Bedford Circus, Exeter, 

Johnston, C., m.r.c.s.. The Square, Barnstaple, 

Jones, Winslow, St, Loyes, Heavitree, Exeter, 

Kelly, A., Kelly, Milton Abbot, Tvvistock, 
Kendall, W., j.p., Summerland Place, Exeter, 
Keunaway, Sir John Bart., Escot, Honiton, 
Kensington, R P., The Elms, Dartmouth, 
Kiugdon, A. S., m.d., Combmartin, Ilfracombe. 
Kirwan, Rev. R., Gittisham Rectory, Honiton, 
Kitson, W. H., 2, Vaughan Parade, Torquay, 

Ley, J. Peard, Bideford, 

Lingwood, R M., m.a., f.l.s., f.o.s., Cowley House, Exeter, 

Loring, Rev. A., m.a., Honiton, 

♦Lyte, F. Maxwell, Eastholme, Torquay, 

Mackamess, Rev. Prebendary, m.a.. Rectory, Honiton. 

Mackenzie, F., m.r.c.8., Tiverton, 

Mathews, J., Rock View, Tavistock, 

Merrifield, S., PlymmUJi, 

Miles, W., Dioi^s Field, Exeter, 

Moore, W. F., The Friaty, Plymouth. 

Morris, T., AhboUfield, Tavistock. 

Nankivell, C. R, m.d., Layton House, Torquay, 
Neumann, G. C, Tracey House, Honiton, 
Newberry, Colin, Manor House, Ottery St, Mary. 
Newberry, Joseph C, West Hill, Ottery St. Mary. 
Nichols, J., Marwoid House, Honiton. 

Ormerod, G. W., m.a., f.g.&, Chagford, 

A 3 



Palk, Sir Lawrence, Bart., m.p., Haldon House, Torqmy. 

Parfitt, Edward, m.e.8., Devon and Exeter Institution, Exeter. 

Parry, J. A., Bideford. 

Pearse, W. C., Emhleigh Terrace, Tavistock. 

Pongelly, W., f.r.s., f.o.s., <fec., Lamorna, Torquay, 

Phillips, J., Devon Square, Newton Abbot, 

Pick, J., Peyton^ Braunton, Barnstaple, 

Pigot, Rev. J. T., M.A., Fremington, Barnstaple. 

Pollard, W., m.r.c.s., Southland House, Torquay. 

Porter, W., Hemhury Fort, Honiton. 

Prideaux, Sir Edmund S., Bart, Netherton Hall, Honiton, 

Prout, Rev. E., Fairfield, Torquay. 

Prowse, A. P., Mannamead, Plymouth. 

Pycroft, A-, M.R.C.8., F.G.a, Kenton, Exeter, 

Quick, G. P., Crewkerne. 

Radford, W. T., m.b., f.r.a.8., Sidmount, Sidmouth, 

Ridgway, S. R, ll.d., m.a., Marlborough House, Exeter, 

Risk, Rev. J. E., m.a., St. Andrew's Chapelry, Plymouth, 

Rock, W. F., Hyde Cliff, Wellington Grove, Blackheaih. 

Rooker, A., Mount View, Plymouth, 

Row, W. N., Cove, TiveHon. 

Rowe, J. Brooking, F.r^s., Lockyer Street, Plymouth. 

Russell, Right Hon. Earl 

Russell, Arthur, m.p., 2, Audley Square, London, 

Sarauda, J. D. A., m.p. 

Scott, W. B., Chudleigh. 

Scott, W. R., PH.D., St. LeonanTs, Exder, 

Scale, Sir H. B., Bart., Mount Boon, Dartmouth. 

Sliapter, T., m.d., Baimfield, Exeter. 

*Sheppard, A. B., Torquay. 

Shutc, R., Baring Crescent, Exeter. 

Sidmouth, Right Hon. Viscount, U pottery Manor, Honiton. 

Simpson, W., Dartmouth. 

Spragge, F. H., Torreviont, Torquay. 

Spragge, W. K., The Quany, Paignton. 

Stebbing, Rev. T. R. R., m.a., Tor CreM Hall, Torquay. 

Stewart, C, m.r.c.s., f.l.s, Princess Square, Plymouth. 

Teesdale, C. L., Swiss Cottage, Exeter. 

*Tetley, J. Belmont, m.d., Torre, Torquay. 

Thom])son, J., m.d., Bideford. [hampstead, 

Thornton, Rev. W. H., b.a., lYorth Bovey Rectoiy, Moretonr 

Tinney, W. H., Snowdenham, Torquay. 

Tracey, Rev. J., m.a.. Vicarage, Dartmouth. 

Troyte, C. A. W., Huntsham Cou)i, Tivtrton. 



XI 

Turn bull, A., Parhwoody Torquay/. 

Turner, T., Mansion Terrace^ Ileavitree. 

Venn, Rev. H. K., m.a., Uoniton. 

Venn, Rev. J. C, m.a., Uoniton, 

Vicary, W., f.o.s.. The Pnort/y Colleton Crescent, Exeter, 

Vivian, E., b.a., *kc., Woodjield, Torquay, 

Vivian, R H. D., Woodfidd, Torquay, 

Vosper, J., Tavistock. 

Weeks, C, Union Street, Torquay, 

Were, T. K., Cotlands, Sidmoulh. 

Wethey, K, Honiton, 

♦Weymouth, R F., m.a., Portland Villas, Plymouth, 

White, Richard, Instow, Barnstaple, 

White, T. J., Croft Road, Torquay, 

Widger, W., Union Street, Torquay, 

Willesford, Rev. T. T. Bedford, m.a. Awlescombe Vicarage, Honiton, 

Windeatt, John, 9, Brunswick Terrace, Plymouth. 

Windeatt, Thomas, Tavistock, 

Woodcock, Rev. T., m.a., Northleigh Rectory, Honiton. 

* Those mombers to whose names an asterisk is prefixed are Life Members. 



Th« jbllowing TabU ihowi the progreu and preient state of the Aieoeiation 
with reepect to the niimber of Xembert. 





Hononuy. 


Life. 




Total. 


July 26th, 1867 


•• 


4 
1 


140 

48 

2 

14 


146 

49 

2 

14 


Rinc6 eloctod 


Since deceased 


AinoA withdrawn 


Since erased 




July 30th, 1868 , 


1 


6 


172 


178 





The fbllowing Table ihowi the niimber of eopiei of each Part of the 
* Traniactioni* now in ftock, and the price per copy of each Part. 





No. of Copies. 


Price per Copy. 








s. d. 


Vol I. 


Part I. . 


60 


1 6 


ti 


„ II. . 


147 


2 


tt 


„ III. . 


172 


3 


ti 


„ IV. . 


167 


2 6 


tt 


„ V. . 


136 


8 


Vol. n. 


I. . 


131 


6 



IN 



BYE-LAWS. 



1. The Association shall be styled the Devonshire Association 
for the Advancement of Science, Literature, and Art. 

2. The objects of the Association are — To give a stronger 
impulse and a more systematic direction to scientific enquiry 
in Devonshire ; and to promote the intercourse of those who 
cultivate Science, Literature, or Art, in different parts of the 
county. 

3. The Association shall consist of Members, Honorary Mem- 
bers, and Corresponding Members. 

4. Every candidate for membership, on being nominated by a 
Member to whom he is personally known, shall be admitted by 
the General Secretary, subject to the confirmation of the Genersd 
Meeting of the Members. 

5. Persons of eminence in Literature, Science, or Art, connected 
with the West of England, but not resident in Devonshire, may, 
at a General Meeting of the Members, be elected Honorary Mem- 
bers of the Association ; and persons not resident in the county, 
who feel an interest in the Association, may be elected Corres- 
ponding Members. 

6. Every Member shall pay an Annual Contribution of ten 
shillings, or a Life Composition of five pounds. 

7. Associates for the Annual Meeting only shall pay the sum of 
five shillings ; and Ladies the sum of two shillings and sixpence. 

8. Every Member shall be entitled gratuitously to a lady's 
ticket. 

9. The Association shall meet annually, at such a time and 
place as shall be decided on at the previous Annual Meeting. 

10. A President, two or more Vice-Presidents, a General Trea- 
surer, one or more General Secretaries, and a Council shall be 
elected at each Annual Meeting. 

11. The President shall not be eligible for re-election. 

12. Each Annual Meeting shall appoint a local Treasurer and 
Secretary, who, with power to add to their number any Members 
of the Association, shall be a local Committee, to assist in making 
such local arrangements as may be desirable. 

13. In the intervals of the Annual Meetings, the affairs of the 



XIV 

Association shall be managed by the Council; the General and 
Local Officers, and Officers elect, being ex officio Members. 

14. The General Treasurer and Secretaries, and the Council^ 
shall enter on their respective offices at the Meeting at which they 
are elected; but the President, Vice-Presidents, and Local Officers, 
not until the Annual Meeting next following. 

15. All Members of the Council must be Members of the Asso- 
ciation. 

16. The Council shall have power to fill any Official vacancy 
which may occur in the intervals of the Annual Meetings. 

17. The Annual Contributions shall bo payable in advance, and 
shall be due in each year on the day of the Annual Meeting. 

18. The Treasurer shall receive all sums of money due to the 
Association ; he shall pay all accounts due by the Association after 
they shall have been examined and approved ; and he shall report 
to each Meeting of the Council the balance he has in hand, and 
the names of such Members as shall be in arrear, with the sums 
due respectively by each. 

19. Whenever a Member shall have been three months in arrear 
in the payment of his Annual Contributions, the Treasurer shall 
apply to him for the same. 

20. Whenever, at an Annual Meeting, a Member shall be two 
years in arrear in the payment of his Annual Contributions, the 
Council may, at its discretion, erase his name from the list of 
Members. 

21. The General Secretaries shall, at least one month before 
each Annual Meeting, inform each Member, by circular, of the 
place and date of the Meeting. 

22. Members wlio do not, on or before the day of the Annual 
Meeting, give notice, in writing or personally, to one of the 
General Secretaries, of their intention to withdraw from the Asso- 
ciation, shall be re«:ardcd as Members for the ensuing year. 

23. The Association shall, within three months after each 
Annual Meeting, publish its Transactions, including the Laws, a 
Financial Statement, a List of the Members, the lleport of the 
Council, the President's Address, and such papers, in abstract or 
iVi extenso, read at the Annual Meeting, as shall be decided by the 
Council. 

24. Every Member shall receive gratuitously a copy of the 
Tnmsactions. 

25. The Accounts of the Association shall be audited annually, 
by Auditoi*s appointed at each Annual Meeting, but wlio shall not 
be ex ojjicio Members of the Council. 



TOE REPORT OF THE COUNCIL, 

Aa presented at the General Meetvtg, at Honiton, July SSth, 1868, 



The Sixth Annual Meeting held at Barnstaple, in July last, 
was the most successful hitherto held, both as regards the 
number of papers read and discussed, and the attendance of 
Members and Associates during the meeting. 

The Meeting commenced on Tuesday, July 23rd. The 
Council and members of the Association were met on their 
arrival at the Kailway Station by the Mayor and Corporate 
body, accompanied by the Council of the Barnstaple Literaiy 
and Scientific Institution, and escorted by them to the spa- 
cious building belonging to the latter, in whose commodious 
rooms the business of the Association was conducted through- 
out the meeting. A Council Meeting having been immediately 
held, at its close a most hearty welcome was accorded to the 
whole of the members in the Guildhall by the Mayor, R 
Farleigh, Esq., who had caused an elaborate luncheon to be 
provided. 

In the evening the President, W. Pengelly, Esq., F.R.S., &c., 
delivered his Introductory Address. 

On Wednesday the 24th, the Association met at 11 o'clock 
a.m., and commenced the reading and discussion of the 
following programme of papers : — 

On Devonian Folk-lore Sir J. Bowring^ ll.d., f.b.8. 

On Boinc Popular Local Superstitions . . . . J, R. Chanter, Esq, 
On the part taken by North Devon in the ) 

Earliest English Enterprises for the pur- > R, W, Cottofi^ Esq, 

pose of Colonizing America ) 

On the Priory of St. Mary's, Pilton . . . . Townshend If. Hall, Esq, 



xvi 

On an Ancient Chapel at Barnstaple . . C. Johnson, Esf. 

On the Remains of Ancient Fortifications ia\ j^ j p-,.^,, j.\n 

the neighbourhood of Bideford . . . . ^ * ^- -^'"^'^^' ^^' 
On the Ancient History and Aborigines of J 

North Devon, and the site of the lost Cim- 5 /. R. Chanter, Esq. 

brie Town, Arta^da ) 

The Temperature of the Ancient World , . C. Daubeny, m.d., F.K.g. 

^^E^'land^ ""^ ^^^"^ ^ *^° ^''^^. ^"^^ ""^l ^'^^"ffellt/,Esq,,T,u.s.,etc 
On the Opening of an Ancient British Barrow, ) ^ Fowler Eso 

at Huntshaw / ' * ^* 

On the Results of the Opening of a Barrow at ) ^ j j j^ 

Putford j ... y. 

On the Evidence of pre-Historic Man, found i ^ Svence Bate Eso 

in Constantine Bay, Cornwall ] ' * 

Notes on the Carboniferous Beds adjoining the j ^ ^ Ormerod m a. f.o 8 

northern edge of the Granite of Dartmoor ] ' ,..,... 

The Raised Beaches in Barnstaple Bay . . . . JF.FmffeilyyEsq.,r.K.8.,vtc» 
So^o^^^^arks on Combmartin Silver Lead | ^y.^^^ ^ Kingdon, m.d. 

On Prison Discipline E. Vivian, Esq, 

'^^^ Kvons'h^^^ Cornwall ^'^^''^'^'' } Jr.Pe^igelly,Esq„Y.VL,f,,,VK, 

On the Annelids of Devon, with a Resume of \ 

the Natural History of the County, past > E. Tar/tt, Esq., m.e.8. 

and present ) 

On the Parasitism of Orbanche Major . . . . E. Parjitt, Esq., m.b.8. 
Notes on the Meteoric Shower of November, 1 866 JF. Fcwjelly, Esq., f.h.8., btc. 
On Murchisonite Pebbles and Boulders in the \ jp. V'earv Eso 

IVias j * ' ^* ^ 

On the Floatation of Clouds and the Fall of Rain IFPtngtlbj, Esq.^ F.n.s., etc. 
On St. John's Cliurch, Torquay, struck by j ^ y.^. ^ 

Lightning j ' ^ ' 

On the Ix)np:itude of Places and the application \ J. Jericood, Esq., m.a., f.o.s., 

of the Electric Telegraph to determine it j f.c.p.s. 

On the Deposits occupying the Valley between ) 777- r> 77 r 

the Braddon and <Vuldon Hills, Torquay J ^- ^^'S'^'J' ^'l' ^•»'-«- 
On some Mammalian Bones and Teeth recently ) jt c pn- 

found in the Submerged Forest ut Noilham j ' * '** 



, F.R.A.8. 



During the day refresliment was sumptuously provided in 
au adjoining room by W. F. llock, Esq., President of the 
Institution, and one of the Vice-Presidents of the Association. 

In the evening the Association Dinner, which also was 
more numerously attended than on any previous occasion, 
took place at the Golden Lion Hotel, after which a very large 
number of members partook of the hospitality of J. 11. 
Chanter, Esq. and Mrs. Chanter, at their residence at Fort 
Hill, where a fine collection of w^orks of art, — Geological 



xvu 

specimens, minerals, coins, and other objects of interest had 
been brought together by the indefatigable exertions of the 
host and hostess. 

On Thursday the 25th, the reading of the residue of the 
papers from the preceding day was resumed, and continued 
until 4 o'clock p.m., after which a Council Meeting terminated 
the proceedings. 

During the meeting several excursions were made by small 
parties to surrounding places of interest, which abound in 
the vicinity of Barnstaple. 

It was decided that the next meeting should be held at 
Honiton, and the following were appointed officers for that 
occasion : — President, J. D. Coleridge, Esq., m.a., m.p., Q.C ; 
Vice-Presidents, D. Gould, Esq. (the Worshipful the Mayor 
of Honiton), W. lu Bayley, Esq., A. B. Cochrane, Esq., M.P., 
Right Honorable Sir J. T. Coleridge, J. Goldsmid, Esq., M.P., 
C. Gordon, Esq., Sir J. Kennaway, Bart., G. Neumann, Esq., 
W. Pengelly, Esq., F.R.S., Eev. Prebendary Mackarness, M.A., 
W. Porter, Esq., Sir E. Prideaux, Bart. ; Hon. Treasurer, E. 
Vivian, Esq., Torquay; Hon. Local Treasurer, E. Wethey, 
Esq. ; Hon. Secretaries, Eev. W. Harpley, M.A., f.c.p.s., Clay- 
hanger, Tiverton, H. S. Ellis, Esq., F.R.iV.s., Exeter; Hon. 
Local Secretaries, Rev. R. Kirwan, m.a., llev. H. Venn, m.a. 

The Council have published the Pi*esident's Address, to- 
gether with the papers read before the Association, also a 
financial statement, a list of members, and the bye laws. 

Copies of the Transactioii$ have been forwarded to each 
member and to the following societies : — 

The Eoyal Society; the Linna^an Society; the Geological 
Society; the Ethnological Society; the Eoyal Institution, 
Albennarle Street; the Assistant Secretary of the British 
Association ; the Exeter Institution ; the Plymouth Institu- 
tion ; the Torquay Natural History Society ; the Eoyal Geo- 
logical Society of Cornwall ; the Eoyal Institution, Truro. 

The Council have the pleasure to add that the Association 
continues to receive an accession of new members ; that 
pleasure, however, has been greatly diminished by the loss of 
two valued members whom the hand of death has removed 



XVlll 

during the past year. First, Dr. C. Daubeny, F.R.a, a former 
President of this Association, who always evinced the most 
lively interest in its prosperity, and whose name will ever 
be distinguished in the annals of science; and secondly, 
his Highness Bajah Brooke, who, when the Association 
visited Tavistock in 1866, iSlled the oflBce of Vice-President. 
Obituary notices of both these late members will, in accord- 
ance with the decision of the last General Meeting, be 
printed in the Transactions of the Association. 



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THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



Ladies and Gentlemen of the Devonshire Association,— 
It does not become me to inquire by what concurrence of 
circumstances and opinions an undistinguished lawyer has 
been called upon to fill this chair, and to deliver this address 
to-night. To myself it is due to say, that this honour is 
unsought and unexpected ; to you it is no less due that no 
time should be wasted in justifying before you a choice which 
is your own. 

This is an Association to bring us Devonshire men together 
for the advancement of Science, of literature, and of Art; 
and I suppose it seemed true to those who founded it, that 
between these things there is no antagonism, but a real, 
if an occult, agreement I think so myself If I did not I 
should at once have declined to undertake a duty, much 
of which from sheer ignorance I should be entirely unable 
to fulfil For of Science, as that word is commonly used, 
I know nothing; Art, though I delight in and admire it, 
I do not pretend to understand; while of Literature, old 
and new, I have honestly tried to know as much, and to 
profit by the knowledge, as has been allowed by the demands 
of a profession at all times exacting, and at present over- 
whelming. It may be then that a dutiful student of letters, 
and a humble admirer of art, may not unprofitably take up 
some moments of the attention even of scientific men and 
of artists, as well as men of general education, if there be 
anything which these pursuits aim at in common, if there be 
any principles which guide them and characteristics which 
belong to them equally and alike. 

Are there then any such common aims, common principles, 
common characteristics, which may be stated usefully and 
tndy, not as sciolistic generalizations, which are shallow and 
tBBidiless, still less as mere rhetorical phrases, ^hich are not 

VOL. n. u 



286 MB. COLKRIDGK'S raSSlDENTIAL ADDBB88. 

worth ike time and breath we spend in uttering thran ? I think 
there are; and I think it may not be wholly uaeless to state 
and to explain them. Science and art and letfcen then alike 
aim at truth, and themoment they forget their objed^ or n^ 
lect to pursue it, they cease to be admirable, and miss their 
end. Science and art and letters are or ought to be alike 
engaged in advancing God's glory and man's ffioA ; and when 
they cease to be so engaged, ikey cease to be worthy of 
the attention of men in earnest Science and art and Irtters 
alike, although perhaps not equally, are instrotnents of 
education, are essential to the highest culture, and no one 
of them can ever be wholly n^lected without some serione 
injury to the intellectual, perhaps even to the moral, character 
of those who neglect it Science and art and letters depend on 
and assist each other ; so that to the perfection of either Cat 
least in idea^ the presence of the other two, to some eztenk 
and d^ree, is necessary and essential Toa remember fhd 
fine lii^ of Mr. Tennyson, which, dealing with e< 
subject^ will express with but little change the thoufl^l 
endeavoi]Lring to convey : 

"Seeing not 
That Beauty^, Qood, and Knowledoe M three 
That doat wm eadi other ; frienu to inaa ; 
living together imder the seme xoo( 
And never can he timdered without tears." 

Let us then a little more at large, and by the aid of illus- 
tration, see how far and in what sense these statements are 
true, and worth the making. 

It appears indeed a truism to say of science that it is 
engaged in the pursuit of truth, and that truth is its main 
end and object Yet there have been times when it hardly 
seemed so; and looking back on which we might be tempted 
to say, that the men of science were clever dreamers, sup- 
porting vain theories with dexterous aigumentation, rather 
than men enamoured of truth, and soberly and gravely 
following after and enquiring for it, and for it only. Lord 
Bacon spoke with contempt of the two great and original 
discoverers of his time, Galileo and Har\'^ey, with whom he 
was acquainted ; and he nowhere, as far as I know, recognises 
the genius of Kepler; and he lost his own life by a cold 
caught in conducting a childish experiment. Descartes, the 
great sceptic in physical science, one of the acutest and pro- 
foundest of men, committed himself now and then to the 
wildest and most baseless dreams. I name the greatest men ; 
for the examples of lesser, but still considerable minds might 



MR. COLEBIDGB'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 287 

be multiplied indefinitely. Yet no one could doubt but these 
men were real philosophers, and that their occasional mistakes 
and fancies were due only to human frailty, and to no love of 
imposture, or desira to practise on the follies of their fellows. 
A charlatan may indeed stumble on a truth; a genuine 
philosopher may be led astray by a delusive fancy; but it is 
the spirit in which the result is followed after which we 
should look to, and not the result itself, which is often trivial 
and deceptive, and almost always slow and uncertain. I have 
been told by a great living authority, that one of the ablest 
of our physicians (Dr. Bright) passed the best years of his 
life in a long series of careful observations on a single subject, 
and arrived at last at one fact, and one fact only, which he 
believed to be certain — I mean, that the presence of a par- 
ticular element in a particular secretion denoted a state of 
the kidneys which medicine could not cure. I have been 
told also, by a great authority, that this one fact, which Dr. 
Bright believed he had established, is now considered to be 
at least doubtful, and that his conclusion is thought to have 
been stated with too wide a generality. I believe again that 
some of the observed factis respecting the appearance and the 
motion of comets cannot be explained by the commonly 
received laws of nature, and that we must believe, at least in 
this instance, either that we do not really see what we think 
we see, or else that there are laws of the universe hitherto 
undiscovered by us and unsuspected. I must not venture 
into depths which my short line can never fathom ; but I 
presume to point out that a true philosopher is he who seeks 
truth, not necessarily he who attains it; and that, in the 
famous words of Mr. Beckford at the end of Vathek, it is 
infieituated pride alone which perceives not "that the con- 
dition of man upon earth is to be — humble and ignorant" 

Now all this is true of art, but true with a difference. For 
truth in art is something different from truth in science. 
Artistic truth is not mere external truth, truth only of repre- 
sentation. Mere imitation, however dexterous, so dexterous 
as even to be deceptive, is not art ; nay, I am bold to say, 
though it sounds paradoxical to say so, has nothing to do 
with art No one ever walked up to a portrait by Titian, by 
Bembrandt, by Sir Joshua, and mistook it for a living man. 
Many have mistaken the figure of Cobbett at Madame 
Tussand's waxwork for an actual human being. No one 
ever was deceived by the flowers or the fruit of Van Huysum, 
or Mnller, or William Hunt ; every one, I suppose, in his 
time has been deceived by skilful waxwork, or painted stone- 

u 2 



288 MR. COLEUIDG£*S PRK8IDENT1AL ADDBKbS. 

ware of these thinj^s. Yet who calls waxwork art? or who, 
save the most childish, derives the smallest mental pleasure 
from it ? It has been suggested, I believe by Coleridge, that 
where there is no attempt at deceptive imitation, every 
approach to likeness gives an intellectual pleasure ; but that 
where the imitation is actually deceptive, every dissimilitude, 
when it is discovered, create disgust. I do not pretend to 
assert that this is the philosophy of it; but the &ct in paint- 
ing undoubtedly is so. 

In music again, I conceive that the direct imitation of natural 
sounds or nutuml objects, except on the rarest occasion and 
for the shortest time, is always un pleasing. The cuckoo and 
the nightingale in Beethoven's pastoml symphony, and the 
nightingale chorus in Handcrs Solomon, may, perhaps, be the 
exceptions ; but the passages imitating the various beasts in 
Haydn's Creation, and the attempt to represent Mercutio's 
description of Queen Mab in Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet 
symphony, prove to anyone who has heard them the (jenend 
truth of the statement I have made. 

Truth in art, therefore, is truth of thought, and truth of 
expression. It is ideal truth, not' actual. And this ideal 
truth has, as it seems to me, been lost sight of, and the real 
value of art has been in consequence much lowered in pur- 
suit of minute imitation of external forms. It is not mnch 
to be wondered at, though I think it is much to be regretted. 
The invention and wide spread of photography, the general 
set of public criticism, the comparatively slight amount of 
mental labour (I do not say of handiwork) required for this 
minute imitation, have all tended to lead our artists, speaking 
genenilly, to what, I must confess, seems to me waste of 
labour, and to a result which, after all, is not worth the time 
and labour which it costs. I take, for example, two iamous 
pictures painted by a man of great ability, which have been 
extolled by eloquent art critics as almost the finest pictures 
the world has ever seen ; I mean, " The Light of the World," 
and " Our Lord in the Temple," by Mr. Holman Hunt The 
time consumed upon tliese pictures must have been very 
great The rendering of the details of them is exquisite 
and admirable. The moonlight on the ivy leaves in "The 
Light of the World ;" the dresses, the books, the phylacteries, 
the doves, the architecture, in the "Christ in the Temple/' have 
been the subject of elaborate and, so far as these things are 
concerned, of perfectly just praise and admiration. But to 
my mind it argues a total forgetfulness of what truth in art 
really means to lavish panegyric on pictures upon grounds 



MR. COLERIDGE'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 289 

such as these. I suppose a picture should, if possible, affect 
the mind as the reality which it depicts would affect it if the 
reality could be seen. Now who, in the presence of " The 
Light of the World," would have eyes for the jewels on his 
lanthorn, or the moonlight on the ivy leaves behind him ? 
Who that saw "Our Blessed Lord in the Temple" would have 
patience or heart to trace the illuminations on the rolls of manu- 
scripts, or the patterns on the phylacteries of the doctors ? I 
have been told that the painter was at the trouble of study- 
ing in the Holy Land the costume and architecture of the 
East in this nineteenth century, and that he had doves brought 
from Palestine instead of Covent Garden, in order to make 
the accessories of his picture literally and minutely accurate. 
I do not know if these things were true ; but those who 
praised him for them evidently thought them praiseworthy. 
To me, I confess, if they were true, they seem childish waste 
of time and money. If, indeed, you could have a literal 
transcript, a photograph, of our Lord upon the mount, or 
among the doctors, it would be beyond all price. But, from 
the very necessity of the case, all you can by possibility 
k9iow of any picture of a subject or a person in the Old or New 
Testament is, that it is not literal, nor in that sense accurate ; 
that it is the painter's mode of conveying to the mind this or 
that idea, this or that fact, suggested or narrated in the sacred 
history; and he who best and most powerfully affects the mind 
with the thought which he wishes to express is the best painter, 
and paints with the greatest truth. If any really think that, 
tried by this test, Mr. Holman Hunt's picture does more 
powerfully affect the mind than a noble convention — such as 
the frescoes of Fra Angelico, or the cartoons of Eaflfaelle, or 
a sublime though homely version of the same sort of incident 
by Rembrandt — I can only say that England is a free 
country, and they are welcome to their opinion ; but if these 
great men affect the mind more cogently, then it is not the 
doves, or the books, or the ivy, or the phylacteries, which 
will alter the judgment; and in spite of their making no 
attempt whatever to give detail, or to give it accurately, I 
say, they are much greater painters, and have painted much 
more truth. 

I have spoken of sacred history and sacred pictures ; but 
it is obvious that the principle of what I have been saying is 
af^licable to all subjects, and to all art ; and certainly, if 
authority is of any value in a matter of this sort (and it is 
for those who deny it to show why it is not), the practice of 
the greatest artists of all time shows that they understood 



s 



290 HR. COLERmn'S FBESIDKNTIAL ADDRSSa 

tmth in the sense for which I have been contending and 
pursued it in the same spirit which I have ittfimpted to 
describe. Of the great masters of the antique we lutve bo 
remains from which we can judge, except in sculpture; nnkss^ 
as is very likely, the fh^coes of Pompeii are often copies of 
fiimous pictures, repeated by the house decorators of Ktnnaa 
timcSs. If this be so, it was, beyond all doubts in graoe of 
design and truth of expression that these great men exoelled, 
and not in the carefiu imitation of multiplied detaiL In 
their sculpture, which has remained, and has never been 
equalled, although certain matters are given with the greatest 
exactness, yet they accepted the stem limitation imposed 
upon their work by their severe material, and worked 
always in that " grand style" so much and so greatly insisted 
on by Sir Joshua, and so much and so unjustly (that is^ if he 
understood Sir Joshua) derided by Mr. Kuskin. ' 

But if we come to modem art, there is not a giMfi ttea 
who has not deliberately repudiated imitation, and IdmMl'tt^ 
and often reached, that higner and nobler trutU'wE^'ttto 
be gained onW by sacrifice of detail, and, if yWA"iMB, hf 
convention. I do not instance in holier men h o <»b W t* gfttt^ 
in whose time art was yet imperfect, and convention 'it nMM- 
sit^. But do you suppose that Michael Angelo, when he 
painted his Prophets or his Sybils, or when he moulded such 
sublime and tremendous forms as Moses, or Jeremiah,* or the 
Duke Lorenzo, could not have discriminated drapery or 
articulated armour ? Do you think that when Baffaelle drew 
S. Paul preacliing on Mars' Hill, he could not, if he had 
pleased, have drawn a pattern on the robe of the meditative 
figure in the foreground as minute as the phylacteries of 
Mr, Holman Hunt? Of course they could; but Michael 
Angelo, for instance, wished to impress on us, and has 
succeeded in impressing, the majestic sorrow of Jeremiah, 
and the colossal power of the man, who was an instrament 
in the hand of God to change for all time the moral standard 
of mankind. Baffaelle wished to make, and succeeded in 
making, " his whole figure think," as Sir Joshua has so well 
expressed it. He could draw a lily, or a dandelion head, 
minutely if he chose, and when it was worth his while; 
but he knew that in the greatest works he had other truth 
than this to seek and to tell, and he told it often through 
the boldest conventions like a consummate artist and a great 
man. 

* I am well aware that the statue of Jeremiah exists only in a smaU model, 
but it is moulded in the grandest and broadest manner. 



MR. COLEKIDGE'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 291 

In this hasty and meagre sketch I must not attempt to go 
at length through other great examples ; but 1 ask you to re- 
member, the practice of Titian, and Rembrandt, and many 
others abroad ; of Sir Joshua and Gainsborough, of Flaxman 
and Stothardt, of Constable, and Turner, amongst ourselves, 
and to acknowledge with me that truth, rightly understood, is 
as much the object of art as of science ; that it has been as 
honestly and zealously pursued by artists as by scientific 
men, and that it has been as often and as successfully 
attained. 

So it is, or so it ought to be, with literature and with men 
of letters. But from the wider range and greater variety 
of literature, and from the absence of any recognised external 
rule or external standard, hterary truth is something more 
complex in idea, and more difficult to attain in perfection, 
than truth of science or truth of art. Perhaps it has hardly 
ever been attained completely ; for it implies in its idea, not 
only purity, or at least honesty, of subject, but likewise 
honesty, and truth of thought, and simplicity of expression. 
In all literary composition, if it is to last, there must be an 
absence of self-consciousness, or, at any rate, of affectation ; 
for manner in the bad sense (as when we speak of a writer 
as mannered) destroys truth, and is inconsistent with real 
greatness. I am afraid, if this be correct, that the literature 
of this age will not stand high hereafter, and that in this 
matter, if in nothing else, we are going down. It is obvious 
how wide a field this opens before us, and how general 
(I hope, rather than expect, it may not be utterly superficial) 
must be the glance we give it. 

I should say, however, that simplicity of language and 
absence of affectation is the great characteristic of all the 
finest literature of all time. For obvious reasons, I say 
nothing of the Hebrew writings. But as to all Greek writers 
1 have any acquaintance with, down to a very late period of 
the language, simplicity of expression seems to me the 
quality which they have everywhere and always. They may 
be easy or obscure, prosaic or poetical, men of great minds 
or men of second rate powers, but, at least, they are not 
mftnnered or affected. In many of the greatest of them — 
in Homer, Pindar, Plato, Aristotle, Xenophon, ^Eschines, 
Demosthenes, Euripides, Aristophanes, Theocritus — we hardly 
ever think of the style at all ; the words seem inevitable ; 
the natural clothing of the thoughts, which rose in order to 
the mind of the writers. It is true, so far as I know, of 
other writers also ; and it is only in out-of-the-way authors, 



292 MR. COLERIDGE'S PRESIDEMTIAL ADDRESS. 

such as Lycophron in the time of the Ptolemies, and Nonnns 
long after, that we detect a conscious hunting after strange 
wonls and strange phrases, i.e., affectation. And the conse- 
quence is, that while Greek literature on the whole has the 
most astonishing vitality simply as literature, these two 
writers (whom I only pretend to know in isolated passages^ 
to which I was led by the Letters of Charles Fox, and the 
Table Talk of Coleridge), although men of great poetical 
genius, are speaking broadly not only unread, but absolately 
unreadabla 

This quality of unconsciousness and simplicity is less 
remarkable undoubtedly in the literature of the Boman 
people. The world had grown older, society was more com- 
plex, men less simple. Accordingly, there is a tinge of 
affectation even in the magnificent abundance of '^Xhe 
Divine TuUy ;" there is more than a tinge in the iaboiions 
terseness of Sallust; there is self -consciousness la tiie 
majesty and tenderness of Virgil; conceit, in tha litoniy 
sense, amidst the fertility of Ovid; haughty self»«88eitian 
and literary pride in the stem and gloomy doqnettoe.iof 
Tacitus. Still, these great writers, and others searcel jp lasS 
great, honestly pursued literary truth; they did iheiir best 
always; and the earnest desire of Virgil that the jBneid 
should be burnt is a convincing proof of the exalted standard 
of perfection which he set before him, and a reproach to the 
slovenly and careless work which now-a-days 

" Hns current pass 
From the fat judgment of the multitude.*' 

It is hardly worth while to detain you with noticing the 
distinctly affected Roman authors, such as Senecaand Apuleius: 
and I pass therefore at once to English literature, and ask 
you to observe that it is honest, simple, truthful work which 
lasts, and that mannerism or affectation, which are literary 
falschooil, carry with them the certain seeds of literary death. 
With us as witli the Greeks, the earlier writers lived in a 
simple state of society, and though they are individual they 
are unaffected. This is true of Chaucer and of most of the 
Elizabethan authors. It was not that they were not artists ; 
for in art they were consummate, and applied its rules to 
their own compositions with relentless severity. There is a 
grand description of poetry by Ben Jonson (from which I 
quoted just now), enough to make the fortune of a modem 
poet, which he struck out of the later editions of the ]day 
where it occurred, because he thought it unsoited to tlie 



MR. COLERIDGE'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 293 

character into whose mouth he had put it. One of the sub- 
limest scenes in King Lear was suppressed by Shakspere 
because, at least so it is supposed, it made the part of the king 
too exhausting for the strength of any ordinary actor. But 
although they were such complete artists, they were for 
the most part singularly simple and straightforward; and 
aceoidingly the great body of them have endured to this 
day. One of the greatest of them all, however, Edmund 
Spenser, assumed a manner; and the consequence is, that, in 
spite of his rare and lovely genius, he is to the generality 
of English readers almost, I am afraid, unknown. 

Take again G^ige Herbert, and Henry Vaughan, and 
Cowley. These men were mannerists and affected; and 
their really noble powers have scarcely saved them 
fipom oblivion. They show by example, which is clearer 
eoid more intelligible than definition, the wide difference 
between style and manner. Every writer has a style, as 
emry. man has a countenance; and a good style, like a 
fine «oimtenance, is always natural. But style, if it is 
innhatiiral> degenerates into manner, which is probably easy 
tffi be imitated, and which, if the writer be powerful, generally 
is imitated by disciples who cannot imitate his power. Of 
eouise, as in all subjects of this kind, the line of division 
cannot be drawn with hard exactness. The great writers, 
except perhaps Shakspere, have some manner which may be 
caught: the greatest mannerists are not always and ex- 
clusively mannered. But in the main what I have said is 
true. Shakspere, Bacon, Hooker, Taylor, Milton, Dryden, 
South, Addison, Lord Bolingbroke, Pope, Swift, Gray, and 
Oowper have all a style; and though very different, they 
have each a great and a fine ona Sterne and Dr. Johnson 
had a manner; and I think Sterne is the only mannerist 
whose popularity survives, partly owing to his astonishing 
power, ps^ly perhaps that manner, and eccentricity, and 
artifice are more tolerable, or even expected, in a humorist 
than in any other class of writer. 

. Now if we apply these rules of judgment to our own day, 
we shall find reason to doubt the enduring nature of some of 
oiur greatest reputations. Of Wordsworth, of Lord Byron, of 
Scott, of Coleridge; when I think of The Cenci, I should say of 
Shelley; of Lamb, of Thackeray, of Hawthorne, it may be said, 
that they have style, not manner. They live, and they will live, 
as great writers, while EngUsh lasts. But can any one say the 
flame of other men, in power not inferior to some of these, in 
{iroaent popularity much greater ? Are we at all sure of the 



294 MR. COLERIDGE'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRl^:S3, 

l>eriiiai]eiit eiidurancse, for examijle, of Keats, of Mn Teiin jsnit, 
gi' Mr. Carlyle i ^o man can atlmire Air. Tennyson and Mr. 
Carlyle more than I do; few men admire them so much. I 
read and re-read their early works when I was a boy, and 
before they wtrt the tkshion ; and I heartily recognize their 
splendid powers. But I cannot refuse to see in the harsh 
jargon in which it pleases Mr Carlyle now to wnia, and in 
the coEscious affectations of Mr, Tennyson, reasons why their 
fame may decay, when the generation they have moulded 
passas away, and with it the fashion they have created. For 
at last, as Mr Carlyle himself would admit, truth flourishes 
and ahams decay; and the ultimate arbiters of literary life 
and death are the great men of letters of each age, who for 
the njost part love trutli and simplicity, and cannot adnmts 
nor even endure aflectation. It thus appears that in a very 
real sense ti-nth is the proper object alike of science^ of art, 
and of letters, and that it haa to be sought after^ if it ia to 
be attaiaed, in all alike, with modesty, and siucority, and 
simpUcity. 

These three then, having like objects, are like also in being 
all right jnstmments of education. This Is indeed a wide and 
diflicult suliject, and one which I ha\'e no preteEsiona ade- 
quately to handle. Neither is it necessary. Tor most of us 
have, I suppose, read Mr. Mills atldreas, delivered last year, 
03 Lord liector of the University, to the students of St 
Andrew's; and I could only say over again, in poorer language, 
what Mr* Mill has said alreaily as well as man can say it 
There was a time, I confess, when I should not have thus 
spoken, and when I should have been disposed to insiat on 
literature, and especially on Greek and Latin literature^ as 
the sole meaiis of high mental cultivation. I now see thflA I 
was wrong; and without flying into the other extreme,; I 
agree with Mr. Mill, that to a complete education scieno^and 
art and letters are all essential contributoriea 

They are also interdependent; so that they derive^ taid 
from, and to a certain extent imply, the existence pf: each 
other. And this in a real and exact sense. It is not only that 
as they are all instruments of a perfect education, and as a 
perfect education is a good thing, so a man is better for know- 
ing something of them alL This, of course, is so ; but beyond 
this, or rather as its reason, each supplies to the other some- 
thing which that other wants, in order to perfection aooordimg 
to its own idea. 

Take lirst the man of science. It is obvious that, SiS a 
man, as a member (rf society, he will be inferior, if he has no 



i 



MR. COLERIDGE'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 295 

knowledge which letters would give him, and no refinement 
which a study of art would, if not create, at any rate 
indefinitely increase. But even as a man of science, see 
what he will want! In order to scientific knowledge— nay, 
even in the useful application of the discoveries of others — 
keenness to observe, perseverance in discovery, clear reasoning 
from premises, and sound judgment in weighing different 
possible conclusions, and arriving at the right one, are indis- 
pensable. Now a man may have keenness and perseverance, 
without ever having opened a book or heard of a work of art. 
Possibly too a perfectly coarse and unlettered man may be a 
quick and correct reasoner. But when a man has to form 
conclusions, and to exercise judgment, is it not plain that 
knowledge of what has been done before, of the failures of 
earlier inquirers, and the reason for those failures, will 
strengthen his judgment and assist its exercise ? And the 
grtoter his learning, and the more exact his knowledge of 
other subjects, the larger materials will he have for estimating 
rightly the connection and result of his own inquiries, ana 
%»* dit*eetittg carefully those which he is about to make. So 
too the refinement of eye, and the accuracy of hand, which 
some acquaintance with art either gives practically, or shows 
the value of, will come in to correct or supplement obser- 
vation, if observation be a part of the labour which the man 
of science has to undertake. And although I do not for a 
moment deny that there have been great men of science 
naturally gifted for this subject, who have been nothing 
else, and yet have enlarged the bounds of science, whether 
natural or applied ; yet history shows that the very greatest 
men of science — men such as Aristotle, Archimedes, Hip- 
pocrates, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, Leibnitz, 
Descartes, La Place, Davy, Faraday — have been men also of 
learning and accomplishments, and would not have been so 
great in their own way if they had known nothing of any 
other. 

Nor must it in fairness be forgotten, that science has often 
derived the greatest advantages from the suggestions of men 
of powerful intellect, not exclusively or even chiefly scientific 
As an illustration of this I may mention, and you will forgive 
me for being glad to mention, one or two facts respecting 
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, communicated to me by my friend 
Dr. Bullar, of Southampton, which I hope he may at some 
time or other himself give to the puUic more at large, 
and with more intelligence than I can pretend ta I do no 
more than remind you of the curious, but only curious. 



296 MR. COLERIDGE'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 

anticipation of the atmospheric and pneumatic railways in 
the well-known lines in the Ancient Mariner — 

" But why (Irivea on that ship so fast, 

Without a wave or wind Y*' 
" The air is cut away before. 

And closes from behind." 

In 1818, however, was published in Th^ Friend the follow- 
ing passage upon electricity: — "By one theorist two hetero- 
geneous fluids are assumed, the vitreous and the resinous; 
by another a plus and minus of the same fluid; a third 
considers it a mere modification of light; while a fourth 
composes the electrical aura of oxygen, hydrogen, and caloria 
Abstract from all these suppositions, or rather imaginations, 
that which is common to and involved in them aU, and we 
shall have neither notional fluid or fluids, nor chemical com- 
pounds, nor elementary matter, but the idea of two opposite 
forces tending to rest by equilibrium. These are the sole 
factors of the calculus, alike in all the theories." Now, fifteen 
years later, in 1833, Faraday, ia his Experimental Itmarchis 
in Electricity, after discussing a variety of theories, eoooludes 
that, "judging fi*om facts only, electricity has never beeove^ 
solved into simple or elementary influences, and may periiaps^ 
best be conceived of as an axis of power having contrary 
forces easactly equal in ammmt in contrary directunis.** 

There is an equally startling anticipation of the discovery 
of Oerstetd, in 1820, of the relation of the magnetic to the 
galvanic force, which for want of time and space I pass by. 
For the same reason I omit to notice a passage in which he 
opposes any attempt to individualize or make an hypostasis 
of the principle of life as a somewhat manifestable per se, 
and consequently itself a phonoraenon. But for the following 
passage as to botany I must find space and time : — 

"So long back," says he in 1818, "as the first appearance 
of Dr. Darwin's Phytonomia, the author then in earliest man- 
hood presumed to hazard the opinion that the physiological 
botanists were hunting in a false direction, and sought for 
analogy where they should have looked for antithesis. He 
saw, or thought he saw, that the harmony between the vege- 
table and animal world was not a hariiiony of resemblance, 
but of contrast, and their relation to each other that of cor- 
responding opposites. They seemed to him (whose mind had 
been formed by observation, unaided, but at the same time 
unenth railed, by partial experiment) as two streams from the 
same fountain indeed, but flowing the one due West, the 
other direct East ; and that consequently the resemblance 



MR. COLERnX^E'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 297 

would be as the proximity, greatest in the first and rudi- 
mental products of vegetable and animal organization. 
Whereas, according to the received notion, the highest and 
most perfect vegetable, and the lowest and rudest animal 
forms, ought to have seemed the links of the two systems, 
which is contrary to the fact. Since that time the same 
idea has dawned on the minds of philosophers capable of 
demonstrating its objective truth by induction of facts in an 
unbroken series of correspondences in nature. From these 
men, or from minds enkindled by their labours, we may hope 
hereafter to receive it, or rather the yet higher idea to which 
it refers us, matured into laws of organic nature ; and hence, 
to have one other splendid proof, that with the knowledge of 
law alone dwell power, and prophecy, and decisive experi- 
ment ; and lastly a scientific method tliat, dissipating with 
its earliest rays the gnomes of hypothesis and the mists of 
theory, may, within a single generation, open out on the 
philoeophio seer discoveries that had baffled the gigantic but 
blinds and giiideless industry of ages." Since this was written, 
t^'idiseoTery that all things are built out of cells confirms 
wonderfhlly t^e anticipations of the writer; and it has been 
shown that the simplest form of v^table and of animal 
life are each alike a single cell. This subject, however inter- 
esting, must not detain us longer, and I pass on to consider 
the relation of science and letters to artists and the arts. 

A moment's consideration will satisfy us how necessary are 
both science and literature to the formation of the great 
artist Anatomy for correct drawing ; physiology for a com- 
prehension of the effects of feeling and of passion, and for the 
right expression of them; geology for the forms of landscape, 
b^any for its details ; mechanics for architecture ; chemistry 
for the preparation and safe use of materials: these are 
some of the branches of science which a great artist ought 
not to be ignorant of, and which, or many of which, most great 
artists have in fact known. Leonardo da Vinci and Michael 
Angelo were amongst the greatest men of science, and the ablest 
practical engineers of their age. Many great painters have 
been considerable chemists ; and if Sir Joshua had been a 
better one, his countrymen would not have had to mourn over 
the decay of some of the loveliest productions of his genius. 
It has been said, perhaps with some exaggeration, that you 
may study the geology of a district in Turner's drawings of 
it ; but there is no doubt that his knowledge of the laws of 
structure, both natural and artificial, as in architecture, was 
ptofband This imparts that air of ease and mastery which 



298 WL COLERIDGE'S PRBSIDENTUXi ADDKESS. 

his drawings almost always display; for no one can draw' 
correctly, and with rapidity and freedom, unless he has that 
thorough knowledge of the laws of the subject he is portray- 
ing, which long and close pi*evious study alone can giva I 
have seen myself a drawing by Bubens, apparently, one 
would say from his pictures, the most careless and swift of 
workmen, in which every figure was drawn first in skeleton, 
then clothed in flesh, and, lastly, with drapery. When we 
learn the thorough knowledge which he took the pcdns to 
acquire, we may understand to some extent the splendid and 
easy prodigality with which, almost as if rejoicing in his 
strength, he flung off picture after picture iVom his easeL 
It may be that we have no men now of his abundant powers. 
I am afraid it is certain that, with some well-known and 
great exceptions, we have no men of his great and varied 
knowledga But art becomes a plaything, and artists mere 
amateurs or dilettanti, when it ceases to be based on scienee, 
and built up with learning. 

This is the last of the relations to art which isjbot be 
noticed, and it is of all the most important. An nnleanied 
artist may be a man of great natuiul power, but he maak 
needs be a man of limit^ range. If he knows nothing of 
the thoughts of other men, he will soon come to an end of 
his own ; and as after all an artist's works can only express 
an artist's mind, if his mind is narrow, so must his art be. 
It would be strange if, in fact, it were found otherwise ; if an 
acquaintance with the genius of the past and the present, 
with "the precious life-blood of master spirits," as Milton 
has it, treasured up for us in books, were of no use to those 
whose liigh calling it is to make tlie canvass or the marble 
tell us grand and lovely truths, and inspire us with noble and 
beautiful ideas. But it is not so found. For one great un- 
lettered artist, and no doubt there liave been such, there are 
a dozen, and those still greater, who are learned. The in- 
tense imagination of Michael Angelo fed upon the letters of 
his time; he studied and illustrated Dante; he lived in 
friendship with the learned men and women around him; 
and his letters and his poems (only too few) display not only 
the austere loftiness of liis mind, but the extent and depth of 
his culture. The severe and manly art of Nicholas Poussiu 
is the reflection of his grave and quiet student life. The 
lectures of Sir Joshua are, or ought to ]>e, an English classic. 
They are so fine in thought, and so just in expression, that 
it required the production of the foul copies of them, cor- 
rected and re-corrected in his own handwriting, to satisfy 



MB. COLERIDGE'S PBESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 299 

many men that they were not the composition of Burke. 
Assuredly, in point of language, they are worthy of that 
great man, though they have a knowledge and a tone of 
thought which are peculiarly Sir Joshua's own. And we 
have lately lost in Gibson a curious example of what I am 
insisting on. In some respects, I confess, Gibson's seems 
to me a wasted life; for he spent his time in executing 
the subjects of the antique, which have no relevancy to our 
life, and have been done better than ever they will be done 
again. Yet his art was almost perfect within its limits ; and 
it was so, I believe, to a great d^ree from his remarkable 
learning. He was uneducated to begin with, and he died 
ignorant of the Latin and Greek languages; but of Latin 
and Greek poetry and mythology he had an astonishing 
knowledge through translations ; and when any passage in a 
classical author struck him as fine or beautiful in translation, 
he was never satisfied till he had obtained from any one he 
met, who he thought could help him, the finest shades of 
nudmiiig given or suggested by the original And he lived 
anwngst amd realized the legendary lives of the subjects of 
hii^rt to- aft extent that, to those who saw him for the first 
time,, was as amusing as it afterwards became interesting, 
from: the simplicity and sincerity with which it was dis- 
played. 

And now if we turn to literature we shall find it to be 
equally true, that science and art enter into its idea, and that 
without them it is narrow, or weak, or poor. It is so much 
more varied that you may have excellence in some portions 
of it without these aids. I should never think of den3dng, 
for instance, that Bums in his way was supreme and inimit- 
able ; and yet he knew no science, and cared nothing for art. 
But this sort of example, of which there are a great many, does 
not prevent its being true, that the high and imperial minds 
in literature, the men who have stamped themselves upon 
their contemporaries and posterity, have either been scientific, 
or have loved science ; and have studied, or recognized the 
importance of stud3ring art The artists and poets of all ages 
have lived and worked together ; and there is no necessity to 
waste time in illustration of this part of the subject And 
as to the other, let me remind you that Aristotle, the prince of 
critics, the most powerful of philosophers, and a considerable 
poet, was also a keen observer and a good mathematician. 
Plato, the refined and imaginative writer, clothing the sub- 
tlest and strongest thoughts in a diction of the most fastidious 
finish, was a lover and a constant student of the exact and 



300 MB. COLERIDGE'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 

rigid science of geometry. Nor has the close connection be- 
tween high imagination and severe mathematics ever been 
more grandly drawn out and made a living truth, than in the 
sublime dream in the fifth book of Wordsworth's Prelude 
with which I wiU conclude this part of my address. 

" On poetry, and geometric truth, 
And their high privilege of lasting life. 
From aU internal injury exempt, 
I mused, upon these chiefly ; and at length, 
My senses yielding to the sultry air, 
Sleep seized me, and I passed into a dream. 
I saw before me stretched a boundless plain 
Of sandy wilderness, all black and Toid ; 
And as I looked around, distress and fear 
Came creeping over me, when at my side, 
Close at my side, an uncouth shape appeared, 
Upon a dromedary mounted high. 
He seemed an Arab of the Bedouin tribes. 
A lance he bore, and underneath one arm 
A stone, and in the opposite hand a shell 
Of a surpassinff brightness. At the sight 
Much I rejoiced, not doubting but a g^de 
Was present, one who with unerring skiU 
Would through the desert lead me ; and while vet 
I looked, and looked, self-questioned what this neight 
Which tiie new-comer carried through the waste 
Could mean, the Arab told me that uie stone 
CTo give it in the language of the dream^ 
Was ' £uclid*s Elements ;' and ' this,' said he, 
' Is something of more wprth ; * and at the word 
Stretched foitii the shell so beautiful in shape, 
In colour so resplendent, with command 
That I should hold it to my ear. I did so ; 
And heard that instant, in an unknown tongue. 
Which yet I understood, articulate sounds — 
A loud prophetic blast of harmony; 
An odo in passion uttered, which foretold 
Destruction to the children of the earth 
By deluge now at hand. No sooner ceased 
The song, than the Arab with calm look declared 
That all would come to pass of which the voice 
Had given forewarning, and that he himself 
Was going then to bury those two books ; 
The one that held acquaintance with the stars. 
And wedded soul to soul in purest bond 
Of reason, undisturbed by space or time ; 
The other that was a god — yea, many gods, 
Had voices more than all the winds, with power 
To exhilarate the spirit, and to soothe 
Through every clime the heart of human kind. 
While this was uttering, strange as it may seem, 
I wondered not, although I plainly saw 
The one to be a stone, the other ashell ; 
Nor doubted once but that they both were books, 
Having a perfect faith in all that passed. 
Far stronger now grew the desire I felt 
To cleave unto this man ; but when I prayed 
To share his enterprise, he hurried on 



MR. COLERIDGE'S PRESIDENTUL ADDRESS. 301 

Reckle«8 of me ; I followed, not unseen, 
For oftentimes he cast a backward look, 
Grasping his twofold treasure. Lance in rest 
He rode, I keeping pace with him ; and now 
He, to my fancy, had become the knight. 
Whose tale Cervantes tells, yet not the knight. 
But was an Arab of the Desert too ; 
Of these was neither, and was both at once. 
His countenance meanwhile grew more disturbed ; 
And, looking backwai-ds when he looked, mine eyes 
Saw, over half the wilderness diffused, 
A bed of glittering light. I asked the cause. 
• * It is,* said he, * the waters of the deep 

Gathering upon us;' quickening then the pace 
Of the unwieldy creature he bet«trode, 
He left me ; I called after him aloud ; 
Ho heeded not ; but with his twofold charge 
Still in his grasp, before me, full in view. 
Went hurrying o'er the illimitable waste, 
With the fleet waters of a drowning world 
In chase of him ; whereat I waktd in terror. 
And saw the sea before me, and the book 
In which I had been reading at my side." 

Thus ends the dream ; which I have quoted to show that 
this great poet, the greatest in our literature in my opinion 
since Milton, placed mathematics by the side of the creations 
of the imagination, and ascribed to them both an imperish- 
able being, even when this world of time and space shall be 
no more. 

I said, finally and above all, that these three things 
agreed also in this, that they ought each and all to be pur- 
sued for God's glory and man's good. And so they ought. 
But I must inflict no further burden upon the endurance of 
an audience already overtaxed by listening to an address, 
the entire inadequacy of which to the occasion no one here 
can feel more keenly, nor regret more painfully, than I. 
Besides, this is a topic I have no right to handle, certainly 
not, at any rate, to you. He who has no sense of responsi- 
bility to God for the right use and best improvement of the 
gifts which God has given him, will not have it wakened 
by any words of mine, and would resent any attempt of 
mine to waken it. Xpri yap i^** Sa-ov ivSixerai a6avarii€iv, koI 
iraira vouty irpos to (fjv Kara to Kparurrw riav iy avr^ was the 
noble and highminded precept of Aristotle given to man- 
kind more than two thousand years ago ; and yet how few 
men have striven to rise above themselves to the immortal, 
or to live according to the best of the mortal nature that 
is in them. But this, at least, I may say, that while false 
science rests in effects and denies a cause ; while prurient art 
d^rades alike the artist and the people ; while unholy litera- 

VOL. II. X 



302 MR. cx)leridge's presidential address. 

ture poisoiis the fountain of good at its very source by corrupt- 
ing the conscience ; it is the function of true science to lead 
to God ; of noble art, " to stir, to soothe, or elevate ;" of pure 
literature, to strengthen us for the great battle of good and 
ill which is ever going on, and in which, whether we like it 
or not, every one of us must take a part. Omnia vanitas 
may be the weary cry of the sated voluptuary. Benedidte 
omnia opera is the thanksgiving of the faithful and trium- 
phant soul. 



4^ttuarp Notices. 



CHARLES GILES BRIDLE DAUBENY, M.D., F.R.S., 

SOXKTIXE PaOPRR50K 07 CnEMISTRT, 

AND LATK FaOPE.S80B OF BOTAXY AND RURAL KCOXOXT, 

IN TUK UMIVBR8ITT OF OXFORD. 



By the death of Dr. Daubeny, the Devonshire Association 
for the advancement of Science, Literature, and Art has been 
deprived of one who, although he could not be called one of 
its founders, was yet early enrolled among its members, and 
of whom it may be said that no one has evinced more zeal 
for its welfare, or has more essentially contributed to its 
success. During the whole period of his connection with it 
he was constant in his attendance at the annual meetings; 
in no instance did the Council in their deliberations fail to 
be assisted by the sound advice which his matured intellect 
enabled him to give ; and almost up to the hour of his death 
he was labouring in its behalf, whilst engaged in revising and 
putting through the press the paper which he had read before 
the Association a few months previously at Barnstaple. 

Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny was a younger son of the 
Rev. James Daubeny, rector of Stratton, in Gloucestershire, 
and was bom in 1795. At the age of thirteen he entered 
Winchester School, whence, after a residence of nearly three 
years, he proceeded to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he 
was elected to a demyship in 1810. In 1814 he took his b.a. 
degree, having obtained the honourable distinction of being 
in the second class in classics, according to the old style of 
the Oxford examinations. In 1815 he was again successful 
in winning academical distinction by gaining the chancellor's 
prize for the Latin essay, entitled " In ill& Philosophioe parte, 
quae moitilis dicitur, tractanda, quaenam sit pnecipue Aristo- 
telicae disciplinse Virtus." In due course he obtained a lay 
fellowship at Magdalen, and applied himself to the study of 
medicine, and for several years practised his profession. 

x 2 



304 OBITUAKY N0T1CB8. 

Although he afterwards relinquished his medical practioe, the 
progress of medical science was during all his life much at 
his hearty and he fully justified his title of BLD. and his 
fellowship with the College of Physicians. 

Whilst at Edinburgh preparing for his professional caieer, 
the lectures of Professor Jameson, of that university, on 
geology and mineralogy, attracted his earnest attention, and 
sibrengthened that desire to cultivate natural science which 
the teaching of Dr. Kidd at Oxford had already aroused in 
him. The change from thoughtful Oxford to active Edinburgh 
was the crisis in his career. Into the discussion then raging 
between the Plutonists and Neptunists, the worshippers of 
fire and water, he entered with all the keenness and the 
ardour of his keen and active mind. After quitting the 
university of Edinburgh, in 1819, he proceeded on a tour 
through France, everywhere collecting evidence on the geo- 
logicid and chemical history of the globe, sending from 
Auvergne some of the earliest notices which had appeared of 
that remarkable volcanic region. During the whole of his 
career volcanic phenomena occupied the attention of Dr. 
Daubeny, and he strove by frequent journeys throngh the 
various provinces of Europe to extend his knowledge of this 
interesting subject He thus prepared the basis of his great 
work on "Active and Extinct Volcanos," which appeared in 
182G, and contains a careful description of all the regions 
known to be visited by igneous eruptions, and a consistent 
hypothesis of the cause of the thermic disturbance. A second 
edition of this work appeared in 1848, some years after his 
North American tour, and since tUen several supplements. 
In 1822, four years before the first publication of the 
" Description of Volcanos," he was elected to the professor- 
ship of chemistry in succession to Dr. Kidd, his former 
teacher. Henoeforth the study of the physical sciences, and 
particularly chemistry and botany, began to absorb his whole 
attention ; and in 1829 he relinquished the practice of his 
profession, and devoted himself to them. Nothing could 
exceed the zealous activity witli which he entered on all 
investigations which had a bearing on tlie principal subject 
of his thoughts. As illustrative of this, one instance only 
need be mentioned. While conducting liis volcanic explo- 
rations, his attention was attmcted to mineral waters, as 
indications of the processes going on below the surfaces of 
various countries. In order to examine these waters in the 
freshest state in wliich they could be obtained, he carried 
about a considerable apparatus, and w^ould busy himself for 



CHARLES GILES BRIDLE DAUBENY. 305 

days in evaporating and analyzing on a large scale, just as if 
he were working in his laboratory at home. By such busy 
scrutiny of waters in the volcanic country of central France 
and the south of Italy he provoked the suspicious credulity 
of the natives, who thought he was poisoning their springs, 
and endangered his personal safety. 

In 1834 he was elected to the Professorship of Botany. 
He was also made Curator of the Botanical Gardens at 
Oxford. Under his careful management these gardens were 
entirely arranged, considerably enlarged, enriched with exten- 
sive houses, and rendered capable of bearing not unfavourable 
comparison with the richest gardens in Europe. He also 
obtained possession of a piece of land in close proximity to 
Oxford, to enable him more easily to prosecute his researches 
in experimental botany. In the pleasant residence at the 
botanic garden Dr. Daubeny passed the remainder of his life. 
Here with never-wearying never-flagging diligence he insti- 
tuted many experiments on vegetation under different con- 
ditions of soil ; on the effects of light on plants, and of plants 
on light; on the conservability of seeds; on the ozonic 
elements of the atmosphere ; and the effects of varied pro- 
portions of carbonic acid on plants analagous to those of the 
coal measures. A full description of many of these experi- 
ments, and the conclusions he deduced from them, may be 
found in his " Miscellaneous Memoirs and Essays," and the 
reports of the British Association. Not to make any de- 
scriptive remarks on them here, it may be briefly stated that 
the last mentioned are peculiarly valuable as elucidating the 
curious question, whether the amazing amount of vegetable 
life in the carboniferous ages of the world may not have 
been specially favoured by the presence in the palaeozoic 
atmosphere of a larger proportion of carbonic acid gas than 
is at present found. 

Dr. Daubeny did not confine his attention exclusively to 
researches in experimental botany, and to the difficult ques- 
tions before mentioned, but, as a part of his duty as professor 
of botany, he took pleasure in drawing attention to the 
historical aspects of the subject. With this view appeared 
his " Lectures on Roman Husbandry," which contain a full 
account of the most important passages of Latin authors 
bearing on crops and their culture, on the treatment of 
domestic animals and horticulture. A few years later followed 
a valuable essay on the " Trees and Shrubs of the Ancients," 
and a catalogue of trees and shrubs indigenous to Italy. 

Dr. Daubeny was a great traveller, almost an annual 



S06 



OMT0AKT HOTICKS. 




> 



visitor to the Contanent ; and in those vkits he gaiued tlie 
MendsUp of many of the most eminent chemists and 
botamsts of the day. At Geneva he was alwaya welcomed 
by the celebrated botanist Deconddle, to whose memory he 
bas devoted a carefol critical essay, puhllshed in the second 
volume of his ** Miscellanies." It is not miprabable that the 
infltt^ace and guidance of that gix^at luan w^ntributed much 
to the formation of those just viewa and clear conoeptioii3 of 
botanical science which were sucli characteristic features in 
tile mind of him who is the subject of this brief notice. 

Of late years, symptoms of ill-health sonietimea iiitt^rfering 
with his proper avocations, Dr. Danbeuy found It desirable 
during the winters to exchange his residence in Oxford for 
the imlder climato of Torquay. Here he was re-ady at all 
times to respond to the call made upon htm, to impart by 
public lectures or otherwise some of that rare store of 
information possessed by him; and he manifeated his un- 
interruptod activity of mind by his constant observations on 
the temperature and other atmospheric couditions of that 
salubrious resort, and by experiments in ozone and the usual 
meteorok^c^ elemente in comparison with another series in 
Oxford. It was during the first of these winter visits tliat 
he joined the Devonshire Association, and in the following 
year he was dected to fill the presidential chair. At Tiverton, 
where the Association met that year (1865), he delivered bis 
inaugural address — an address to which for soundness and 
depth of thought, extent of research, and perspicuity of ex- 

Sression, it would be difficulty to find a parallel i|i the pub- 
shed transactions of any learned society in the kingdom. 
His interest in the well-being of the Association did not end 
with the termination of his year of office, but at every sub- 
sequent meeting he was present, and contributed greatly to 
their success by the papei's he read, and the share he took in 
the discussions. 

At Tavistock, in 1866, he read a highly interesting paper 
" On the Dependence of the amount of Ozone on the Direction 
of the Wind," wherein, having established the fact that the 
average amount of ozone present in the air is greatest when 
the wind comes from the S.W., he endeavoured to deduce the 
conclusion that this circumstence tends to explain the great 
salubrity of the sea coaste in the S.W., S. and W., inasmuch 
as the S.W. wind is the most prevalent wind in such situations. 
It is to be regretted that he chose to have printed in the 
Transactions of the Association merely a brief abstract of the 
paper alluded to. 



CHARLES GILES BRIDLE DAUBENY. 307 

Last year, at Barnstaple, the proceedings were enhanced in 
interest by a most valuable paper which he contributed " On 
the Temperature of the Ancient World." This paper, pub- 
lished in extenso in the Transactions of the Association, and 
illustrated by some carefully- executed diagrams, must ever 
be regarded by the members with peculiar interest, as being 
the last published production of the fertile brain of Charles 
Daubeny. 

Besides his connection with the Devonshire Association, 
he took an active part in the proceedings of several congresses 
held for the promotion of physical science. He had during 
his career been an unchanging friend and supporter of the 
British Association ; and in 1856, on the occasion of its 
visiting Cheltenham he became president, amidst numerous 
friends, who caused a medal to be struck in his honour, the 
only instance of the kind in the history of the Association. 

His latest labour was to gather his "Miscellaneous Essays" 
into two very interesting volumes, and then, after patiently 
enduring severe illness for a few weeks, he sank to that rest 
which often in his thoughts had ever been expected with the 
calmness of the philosopher, and the hopefulness of the 
Christian. He died at five minutes past 12 a.m., December 
13th, 1867, in his 73rd year. His remains were laid in a 
vault adjoining the walls of Magdalen College Chapel, in 
accordance with his own expressed wish, " that he might not 
be separated in death from a society with which he had been 
connected for the greater part of his life, and to which he 
was so deeply indebted, not only for the kind countenance 
and support ever afforded him, but also for supplying him 
with the means of indulging in a career of life at once so 
congenial to his taste, and the best calculated to render him 
a useful member of the community." 

Thus passed away one whose memory will long be cherished, 
not only by those whose good fortune it was to possess his 
personal friendship and enjoy his intimacy, but also by all 
who are in any degree interested in the progress of science 
and the unravelling the mysteries of natura He was never 
indiflferent, prejudiced, or unprepared ; but on every question 
his opinion was formed with rare impartiality, and expressed 
with rare intrepidity. Firm and gentle, prudent and generous, 
cheerful and sympathetic, pursuing no private ends, calm 
amid jarring creeds and contending parties, the personal 
influence of such a man on his contemporaries for half a 
century of active and thoughtful life fully matched the effect 
of his published works. Any one accustomed to a considerable 



N 



308 OBITUARY NOTICES. 

degree of intimacy with him would be able to declare that 
he never met with any man more entirely truthful and just- 
minded: you might absolutely rely upon him in regard of 
deeds, thoughts, and motives. To convince his judgment was 
to enlist his sympathy, and secure his active help; to be 
censured with over-much strictness was a passport to such 
protection as he could honestly give. 

His published writings are very numerous. Many of his 
essays and memoirs, scattered through various periodcals, 
and not easily accessible, were collected and arranged by their 
author in two volumes of miscellanies. The following is a 
list of the works which contain the principal results of Dr. 
Dauben3r's scientific and literary labours : — 

1. Description of Active and Extinct Volcauos, 8vo. London, 1826. 

Second Edition, 1848. Several Supplements. 

2. Tabular View of Volcanic Phoenomena, thick FoL 1828. 

3. Notes of a Tour in North America, 8vo. (Privately printed.) 1838. 

4. Introduction to the Atomic Theory, 8vo. 1852. 

5. Lectures on Roman Husbandry, 8vo. 1857. 

6. Lectures on Climate, 8vo. 1863. 

7. Trees and Shrubs of the Ancients, 8vo. 1865. 

8. Miscellanies on Scientific and Literary Subjects, 2 vols. 8vo. 1867. 



SIR J. BROOKE, K.C.B., 

LATF QOVKRKUR OF I.ABIAN AND RAJAII OK 8ARAWAK. 



To the honoured name of Dr. Daubeny must be added that 
of another, who, during the past year, has been removed from 
among us by death, viz.. His Highness the I^jali Sir J. 
Brooke, who, although less known to the world of science 
and letters, nevertheless, occupied a position among modern 
representative men, periiaps the liighest that could be at- 
tained, who has left a name behind him destined to stand 
forth prominently in the future pages of English history, and 
who has made the English name to be respected and loved 
in the eastern seas. 

Sprung from a good old Somersetshire family, and the son 
of a plain retired official, wlio had acquired a handsome 
competency in the Civil Service of the East In^lia Company, 
James Drooke was born, either in India or, according to 
another account, at Combe Grove, near Bath, on the 29th of 



SIR J. BROOKE. 309 

April, 1803. He received liis early education at several 
schools, but principally at the Grammar School at Norwich, 
at that time under one of the Valpy family. As a boy he 
had loved nothing so well as " Robinson Crusoe " and books 
of foreign adventure; it is not to be wondered at that as 
soon as he grew towards manhood he should have chosen the 
Indian army as his profession. He obtained his first com- 
mission about the year 1817, and served as a cadet in the 
first Burmese war, in which he was severely wounded, and 
shortly after obtained his lieutenancy. After his return to 
England, upon the death of his father, an accident befel him 
which altered the whole course of his subsequent life. On 
recovering from his wound he travelled through France and 
Italy to re-establish his health; but on reaching India he 
found that his furlough had expired, and that he was obliged 
to retire from the service, although he was able to plead in 
excuse the fact that he bad been wrecked on his outward 
passage, and that he was scarcely accountable for the delay. 
Accordingly, he made up his mind to do the best that he 
could under the circumstances, and having purchased a 
yacht of 140 tons burden — The Royalist, — in her he set sail 
towards the close of 1838 from the mouth of the Thames, 
with a crew trained to obey him and feel faith in his com- 
mand, and steered straight for those eastern seas of which 
he had read as a child, and which he now resolved to penetrate 
again. He had heard much of the wretched condition of 
the natives of some of those eastern islands ; of their habits 
of plunder, piracy, and murder ; of their discontent under the 
rule of native chiefs almost as savage and lawless as them- 
selves ; and of the gradual cessation of trade and commerce, 
which threatened to plunge them deeper in the gloom of 
barbarism. In the month of August, in 1839, having already 
passed the southern shores of India and Ceylon, crossed the 
Indian Ocean, and landed at Singapore, he reached Sarawak, 
which is situated a few leagues up country from the sea 
coast of Borneo. 

On reaching the coast of Borneo he found the sovereign of 
that island engaged in a long and almost hopeless attempt to 
suppress one of those rebellions which so frequently happen 
among the rival rulers of subordinate districts. His services 
were lent to the rajah, Muda Hassim, uncle of the sultan, 
and they secured the triumph of authority and law. It 
appears that Muda soon afterwards, being called to the post 
of prime minister, recommended the sultan to entrust Sara- 
wak to the care and government of the able Englishman. 



310 OBTTUABY NOIIGES. 

The advice thus tendered was accepted, and forthwith James 
Brooke was duly instaUed as r^jah. 

The newly appointed rajah immediately set about the 
reform of the local government, the framing of new laws, 
and the improvement of the people thus strangely sub- 
jected to the aU but irresponsible sway of the " Tuaii Besar,** 
or great man, as the natives persisted in calling him. Ue 
soon attached to himself the native rulers by the tie of 
affection ; and pursuing war as a pastime, chased the pirates 
to their retreats, and scoured them from the seas. The result 
of these expeditions was the shedding of a great deal of 
blood ; but it was said that those who perish^ were free- 
booters and pirates, and the outcry raised in consequence at 
home against the rajah gradually died away. Captain Kep- 
pel, who had largely assisted him in the suppression of 
piracy, on his return to England in 1844, published a Diary 
by the rajah himself, which rendered the public at home 
familiar with the true state of the case, and prepared them 
to welcome him on his return with suitable demonstrations 
of their feelings. On reaching London in 1846, or early in 
1847, Bajah Brooke found himself famous, and more than 
fiimous. The knighthood of the Bath was conferred upon 
him by her Majesty; the University of Oxford bestowed 
upon him the honorary degree of D.C.L ; and he was fSted 
and entertained at dinner by every public body, from the 
Queen at Windsor Castle, down to the most third-rate and 
fourth -rate of city companies. He also reaped the more 
solid and substantial reward of being created by the Queen 
" Commissioner and Consul to the native states of Borneo, 
and Governor of Labuan," the latter being a small island near 
Sarawak purchased from the sultan, and erected into a 
British colony. As governor he enjoyed a salary of ;£2000 
a year. 

It is not to be supposed that all this time he had no 
zealous opponents or detractors from the credit and fame 
which were his due. His conduct was severely criticised 
and censured by Mr. Joseph Hume and other members of 
the imperial parliament ; and his rule was made the subject 
of official enquiry, which he felt to be almost equivalent to 
an official censure. Although he came triumphantly out of 
the enquiry, yet it laid the foundation of great mental 
suffering and bodily illness in a man like Brooke, whose 
sensitive and chivalrous nature, as Edmund Burke has 
pointedly said, "feels dishonour as a wound." What hard 
work in the east could not do was speedily effected by 



SIR J. BROOKE. 311 

mistrust and jealousy at home working upon his sensitive 
and generous disposition. In 1858 he returned to England, 
but he had been in this countiy only a few months when his 
health received a serious shock in the shape of a paralytic 
attack. From that time one or two short visits paid to the 
island of his adoption filled up the intervals of the forced 
inaction to which broken health and spirits reduced him, his 
rule in the east being administered by the hand of a relative. 
To add to his troubles, his books, private papers, and house 
were burnt in an insurrection in Borneo, which he was not 
on the spot to quell. A public meeting, however, was held 
in London, and a sum of money was collected among his 
friends and admirers sufficient to enable him to replace them 
and purchase the estate at Burrator, in South Devon, where 
he ended his days in peace and tranquillity. 

He died on Thursday, June 11th, at the early age of 65, 
deeply regretted, especially by the poor of many parishes in 
the districts around Burrator, to whom he was always a 
friend, and to whom his death will prove a great loss. His 
remains were interred in the parish church of Sheepstor, near 
Horrabridge. 



ON THE SALMONID^ OF DEVON. 

BT DB. 800IT. 



At a former meeting of this association I introduced the 
subject of the fishes of Devonshire, and in that paper I dwelt 
at some length on the important fiEimily of the salmonida. 

The natural history of this class of fishes has always been, 
and indeed still is, involved in considerable obscurity; and 
though some advances have been made in later years in 
developing a knowledge of salmon history, there are yet many 
points left for future observers to investigate ; and my paper 
on the present occasion is rather to point out the direction 
in which our observations in Devonshire are required than to 
throw much new light on the matter, and to record some 
detailed descriptions of the more doubtful species captured 
in our rivers. 

The members of the salmon family found in Devon are con- 
siderable, and under their local names are known as follow : — 
The Salmon, the Hepper, the Graveling, the Peal, tbe Trout, 
and the Trough. 

THE SALMON. 

The salmon, when full grown and properly developed, is 
generally well known and easily recognized. It is the laigest 
of all of its family, and has been known to reach SOlbs., but 
seldom reaches a weight in our own county of more than 
from ten to twenty pounds. 

It is a fish that migrates between salt and fresh water, and 
therefore cannot be said either to be a salt or a fresh water 
fish, though it is generally considered to belong to the salt 
water, only coming into the fresh water to deposit its spawn. 
Its condition reaches its best in the sea, and as soon as it 
enters the river it begins to decline — its scales lose their 
brightness, their silver becomes tarnished, and the flesh 
becomes soft and flabby, and loses its fine rich pink hue. 
Salmon enter rivers generally when their waters are swollen 
by floods. Such a season as this, for instance, when there has 



ON THE SALMONIDiE OF DEVON. 313 

been a long drought, and the rivers have long remained low, 
the salmon will have congregated in numbers about the 
estuaries, ready, as soon as the flood comes, to rush up the 
streams, struggling onwards to their highest parts, where they 
remain in pools till the time comes for them to deposit their 
spawn, for which purpose they then seek out the shallow 
parts, and commence their labours in water of from 8 to IG 
inches in depth, and mostly where thei'e is a gentle current 
with a gi'avelly bottom. 

In our own rivers the salmon seldom enter earlier than 
August, during which month, and the following ones of Sep- 
tember, October, November, and December, they are most 
plentiful. In these latter months the roe becomes greatly 
developed, and they deposit their spawn, during which period 
they ai'e protected from being destroyed by law. The great 
breeding season in England and Wales is in the months of 
November, December, and January, while in the north of 
Scotland it is somewhat earlier. From this difference in the 
period when salmon deposit tlieir spawn, we hear of early 
and late rivers. There is a difference of opinion as to the 
cause of early and late rivers, and though it has been attributed 
to several causes, the true one has not as yet been very clearly 
shown. When the fish have entered the rivers, and as the 
roe increases, the desire becomes greater and greater to ascend 
to the higher parts of the streams, and to accomplish this they 
will make great efforts to overcome all obstacles that may 
present themselves. In doing so they may be often seen 
attempting to leap over dams and weirs placed across rivers, 
and spring many feet out of the water. It is to assist fish 
over such obstacles that salmon ladders have been constructed. 
We have many weirs in the river Exe which are great pre- 
ventives to the fish ascending, and ladders have been placed 
so as to assist the fish in some of these, but not, I fear, as yet 
with much success.* When the fish have ascended the river, 
and deposited their spawn, they then become lean and lanky 
in appearance, and are called with us hack fish, and are not 
allowed to be captured by law, as they are in a great degree 
tasteless, and unfit for human food. 

The fish having entered the rivers, and deposited their 
spawn, again make their way back to the sea in an exhausted 

* During tho present season the Exe has been unusually low, offerinf^ 
great facilities for constructins^ salmon ladders ; but- though Mr. F. Buckland 
exhibited at Exeter a variety of ladders, accompanied with hints as to their 
application to the Exe weirs, I ro;^t to say that the authorities have aUowed 
tfoch an opportunity to pass without taking advantage of it. 



314 OK THE SALMONIDifi OF DEVON. 

condition, having expended their fetness and their strength 
in their eiibrts to perpetuate their race. On reaching the sea^ 
say about February or March, they remain there till the 
following July or August, when they again seek the fresh 
waters, to again go through the same operations. 

THE HEPPER AND GBAVELIMG. 

If the spawn has been deposited, say in November or 
December, the young will appear about February, having 
required for incubation a period of from 70 to 100 da^s. 
They may be then observed about half an inch long, with 
part of the ova attached to their abdomen, where it remains 
for nearly a month, and then disappears by being absorbed 
into the fish. These fry are at this period shapeless objects, 
with small head and large protruding eyes. At a month old 
they become more fish-like, and have grown to about an inch 
in length. In a month more they are two inches in length, 
the lateral line has become visible, and the tail notched. 
When they have grown to three or four inches long, in our 
Devon rivers they are known as heppers. 

Many of you are doubtless well acquainted with the fish 
in this stage ; but for the information of those who are not^ 
I may say that we find the hepper varying from four or five 
inches long to eight Colour of the back and sides, olive brown 
marked by a number of dark round spots ; pectoral, dorsal, 
and caudd fins, dusky ; ventrals and anal rather lighter, and 
with several broad transverse bands, like finger marks, ex- 
tending down the sides. This is the h^per of Devonshire 
and the parr of Scotland, and has been with us a fish regarding 
which there has been much controversy.* From this period 
of salmon life to that of tlie full-grown fish the changes 
which it undergoes are remarkable, and there has been much 
of its history obscure. Owing, however, to the success which 
has attended the artificial cultivation of this fish, part of 
what was obscure has been cleared away, and we have now a 
better knowledge of some of its changes. These heppers remain 
in the river where they are bred till they attain a length of 
seven or eight inches, when tliey somewhat suddenly assume 
another dress — new scales appear to cover the old ones, and 
they present a colour and form much more resembling those 
of a true salmon — the back is a glossy blue, and the sides 
and belly of a silvery white. In this dress they are called 
with us travelings, and with the Scotch smolts; and as soon 
as they have put on this new form they make their way to 
the sea, which generally takes place in the month of May. It 



\ 



ON THE SALMONIDiB OF DEVON. 315 

was long believed in Devonshire, and indeed is yet by many, 
that the hepper and graveling were distinct fish; and the 
argument used by those who contended for this being the 
ease was, that heppers can be taken in our rivers at all seasons 
tliroughout the year, while gravelings cannot. This no doubt 
is the case ; but the fact is explained in the following way. 
When heppers change into gravelings it is found that only 
part of a brood do so, not £dl, the other part not taking on 
their graveling dress till the year following. Whereas grave- 
lings never remain in the river after assuming the graveling 
dress. I was informed by an attendant at the Zoological 
Gardens of a curious fact he had observed connected with 
the heppers they had in confinement. These heppers changed 
their dress at the usual period to that of a graveling, and 
having worn this some time, and found no means of escaping 
out of fresh water, gradually changed back again to heppera. 
This is a change I have not elsewhere seen alluded to. 

Had the changes we have just explained been confined 
only to the true salmon, we might have at once pronounced 
upon the young heppers and gravelings found in our waters ; 
but such is not the case ; for similar changes are common to 
the other two migratory species of the salmonidae; viz., 
Salmo eriox and Salmo tinUta— the bull trout and the salmon 
trout. And a mode of distinguishing these in their young 
stage from each other is, according to Gunther, a discovery 
left for future naturalists. Besides the young of these 
migratory species, we find another species in our rivers, pos- 
sessing in early life much of the same appearance as the 
species already mentioned ; viz., the young of the Salmo fario 
or common trout ; but this last is always to be separated from 
the others by its having a vermilion -coloured spot on the 
point of the second dorsal or adipose fin. 

In the paper I had the honour of reading before the 
society at Torquay, I then showed the hepper and the 
graveling to be the same fish at different stages of growth, 
and, as I thought then, of the salmon alone ; but more recent 
observations have led me to modify this opinion, and to 
believe that the heppers and gravelings of our rivers are not 
only the young of the true salmon, but include also specimens 
of the eriox, and possibly the trutta, which are all so 
similar to each other, that as yet no acknowledged mode is 
known of separating them. 

This similarity of the young in different natural groups of 
animals, where the adults differ considerably, has long been 
observed, as also the fact that species of an inferior size 



N 



316 ON THE SALMONIDiB OF DEVOK. 

retain permanently characteristics possessed in common with 
'the young of larger species, out of which the larger species 
grow. So it is in the family of the salmonidaB. The vomer 
teeth are possessed by the young of all the species I have 
named through the whole vomer ridge; but I believe the 
common trout is the only species that retains this mark 
permanently, since I have met with specimens in the other 
three varieties where it has beeen wanting, or reduced to a 
very few in number. 

The hepper and the graveling, then, are not distinct species 
as was so long believeil, but only stages of growth of other 
fish, including the mlar, the ei'iox, and the trutta; and as yet 
no acknowledged marks are known by which we are enabled 
to distinguish any one species of these from the other. 

THE SALMON PEAL. 

Between the graveling stage and that of the full-developed 
fish, whether of the salmon, the bull .trout, or the salmon 
trout, there is another stage approaching nearer to the full- 
grown fish, and that stage in our Devonshire rivers I believe 
to be represented by the salmon peal. What is the peal of 
Devon ? has been a vexata qutUio as tough and as difficult of 
solution as any ever fought over by the schoolmen of the 
middle ages ; and now, while many believe it to be as I have 
stated, the young of more developed fish, some still strongly 
maintain its being an independent species. 

In the paper read by me at Torquay, I there stated my 
belief that the peal was a stage of growth of the true salmon, 
but tliat other fish besides young salmon were sold as peal. 
Further observations have confirmed me in this opinion, and 
shown that our Devonshire peal include young salmon, 
young ball trout, and probably young salmon trout, and are 
only the further developed heppers and gravelings of our 
rivers. 

Daring the present season, by the kindness of Mr. San- 
ders, the intelli;];ent fishmonger of St. Martin's Lane, 
Exeter, I have had an opportunity of examining many 
specimens of the various sahnonoids which have been 
caught in Devonshire rivers, and the three here presented 
to you in pliotogi-aph represent three fish that were sold as 
peal to nie. 

In looking at tliese fish, an ordinary observer may not per- 
haps perceive any great difference ; yet no one can examine 
them carefully without seeing even in the general appear- 



ON THE SALMONIDiE OF DEVON. 317 

ance of Nos. 1 and 2,* which are about the same size, that 
there is a diflference. If compared through the whole length, 
it will be seen that No. 1 is more elegant in its form. The 
portion behind the dorsal fin is not so heavily and thickly 
formed ; the extremities of the tail and head are both smaller 
in No. 1 than they are in No. 2 ; and the tail is sharper and 
more elegant in its lunation. Thus for a general examina- 
tion. If we descend to a more particular and detailed com- 
parison — if we compare the length of the head with the 
length of the body, we shall find that in No. 1 the proportion 
is as about one to five measuring to the insertion of the 
caudal fin, while it is in No. 2 as one to five including the 
caudal fin. Again, if we look closer at the caudal fin, we 
shall find that while the central rays of this fin in No. 1 are 
less than half the length of the longest ray of the same fin, 
that of No. 2 is different. Here the central rays are more 
than half the length. Parnell gives this as a test to dis- 
tinguish the true salmon from either of the other migratory 
species at any peiHod of their growth. The true salmon having 
the central rays less than half the longest, and the other 
species more than half the length. 

This, I am inclined to believe, is a safe guide in the peal 
stage, and up to a moderate age in the salmon ; but in a fish 
of advanced years I believe it fails, and I have not tested it 
in the hepper and graveling stages sufficiently to speak with 
certainty. 

I deduce from this examination, and from a stiU more 
detailed one, that No. 1 is the young of the true salmon, 
while No. 2 is not.+ What, then, is No. 2 ? and is it the 
same as No. 3 ? From a careful examination of this fish, 
I believe it to be a young bull trout or Salmo eriox; and 
it is possible that No. 3 is the same, though there are some 
differences of importance. In No. 2 the teeth on the vomer 
are confined to the anterior of the vomer, and only two in 
number ; while in No. 3 the vomerine teeth extend far back, 
and are several. This distinction of teeth has been con- 
sidered one of importance in distinguishing species ; but 
from so many individuals of otherwise apparent identity 
differing in this, I have been led not to lay much weight 
upon this "mark of mouth." 

Dr. Parnell, in his admirable volume on the fishes of the 
Frith of Forth, gives nine varieties of the 8, eriox, and in 

• The paper was illustrated by figures to which these Nob. refer, 
t Appended to this paper wUl be given a detailed deacription of these 
three Mi. 

VOL. IL Y 



318 ON THB BAIMOmOM OF DETOK. 

these the teeth on the vomer vaiy from two to fiva Thia 
shows that this fish has a tendency to assume several modified 
forms; and it is quite possible that Nos. 2 and 3 are the 
same fish, viz., S. eriax. Though it is possible, firom the 
vomerine teeth and its o^-like shaped spote, that Ka 3 mav be 
tiie 8. trutta, which, however, from the scarcity of this fish in 
the adult state in the West of England, is not very probabl& 
You will see from these remarks that it is very difficult to 
pronounce positively on these^fish as to the exact place they 
occupy in the salmon family ; but I have added a detailed 
description of them in an Appendix to this paper, which may 
enable others to compare them with fish of different livers, 
and so lead to more positive knowledge r^arding them. 

THE nrVEB TROUT, OR COMMON TROUT. 

This fish is so well known and so common in all our 
streams that little need be said here regarding it The trout 
varies considerably in different localities both in size and 
colour, so much so, indeed, as to induce the belief that there 
may be more than one species. The trout of the Otter or the 
Culm compared with the trout of several of the Dartmoor 
streams present a very remarkable difference, yet not more 
than the difference presented by the districts in which they 
are found. It has therefore b^n considered that these dif- 
ferences presented by the trout of different localities are 
sufficiently accounted for by tlie different circumstances by 
which they are surrounded ; yet it is worthy of investigation 
whether or not differences of organization exist in the dif- 
ferent specimens presented to us by the streams and brooks 
of Dartmoor, and the rivers of the Culm, the Otter, the Axe, 
and the Exe ; for it is quite possible that the long-continued 
influence of different circumstances may have produced 
modifications of form as great as some of those by which 
species are sometimes established. 

THE TROUGH. 

The trough, like the peal, is a fish not very well defined, 
and the term, like that of peal, I believe to have been applied 
to several kinds of fish. Indeed, any fish not recognised as 
peal or salmon get the name of trough, though probably the 
Salmo eriox in an advanced stage of growth to that of peal is 
the most generally recognised trough of Devon. 

Two of the largest fish I have ever seen caught in the 
Devonshire rivers have been shown to me as trough. The one 



ON THE SALMONID^ OF DEVON. 319 

(No. 5) caught July 16th, and the other (No. 6) July 20th, of 
the present year. The first weighed 20 lbs., and the last 36 lbs. 
Except in size these fish closely resembled each other. The 
one that was 20 lbs. was a female, that 36 lbs. a male. If the 
trough is a bull trout, as given by Couch, and these fish are 
of this species, then that of 36 lbs. weight is considerably the 
largest specimen on record. The general aspect of these fish 
was somewhat trout-like, and their brown and greyish green 
colours of various shades, and their black, dark brown, and 
red spots all added to their trout-like appearance. The figures 
6 and 6 are photographs of these fish, while figure 7 repre- 
sents the head of the one weighing 36 lbs. The larger fish 
measured 47 inches from the snout to the extreme end of the 
central rays of the caudal fin, and 23 inches roimd imme- 
diately in front of the dorsal fin. In general proportions 
the fish was thick for its length, and it waa well grown in 
girth towards the second dorsal fin, giving it somewhat of 
a pike-like growth. The base of the first ray of the dorsal 
fin was situated midway between the snout and the central 
rays of the caudal fin, while the length of the head from 
snout to posterior margin of gill-covers was 10^ inches. In 
the smaller fish the full length was 39 inches, and from snout 
to end of gill -covers 8 inches. In the large fish the eye 
was situated about midway between the posterior margin 
of gill-covers and the end of the snout, while in the lesser 
specimen it was much nearer the snout. The flesh of both 
when cut into was good and of a rich pink colour. It 
will be seen from the photographs that in the large fish the 
head was larger in proportion to the body than is usually 
found to be the case in salmon, while the formation of the 
head was very peculiar. The upper jaw was long and com- 
pressed, having a considerable curve from the end of the 
mystache to the point of the snout, while the under jaw was 
narrow, elongated, and hooked considerably upwards at the 
end. The teeth were large, incurved, and few, as if many 
had been broken off, while there were three on the middle of 
the vomer. The caudal fin, as will be seen in the figure, 
was nearly straight, departing in its proportions between the 
shorter and longer rays from those already stated to exist 
in salmon, though not, as I found by actual measurement, 
very much. 

In comparing the forms of the oi)erculum and pre-oper- 
culum with those given by Yarrell of the three migratory 
species, it was found that they corresponded most nearly 
with those of the true salmon, while in a comparison of other 

Y 2 



\ 



320 ON THE fiULLMONIDiB OF DEVON. 

points some agreed and some disagreed with those especially 
given as salmon characteristics. 

In comparing this fish with the plates of the Tarious 
authors, I find it most resembles the xcviiL plate of Bloch,* 
which is a figure of the male salmon. Here the peculiarily 
of the head is remarkably similar, and the colouring and 
spots greatly alika In Bloch's plate the tail is much lunated, 
while in tlus fish it is not; but altogether Bloch's figure is 
not a bad representation of the fish. Taking this, with the 
size and the other particulars in which it agrees with the 
9alar rather than the eriox, I am inclined to believe it to be 
a true salmon, modified from the forms usually met with by 
age. The head of the male salmon generally gets more 
mumty than that of the female, but it appears when a fish 
gets old, there is a considerable elongation of the head in 
Both sexes. 

Since tiie above was written I have had some conversation 
with Fulford Vicary, Esq., of North Tawton, on the subject 
of this fish. Mr. Vicary is a gentleman who has had much 
experience in salmon, visiting Norway annually as a salmon 
fisher. On seeing the phot^raph of this fish, he at once 
pronounced it to be a true sidmon, and of considerable aga 
Me kin^y proffered to send me the head and tail of a fish 
killed by himself of very nearly the same size. This head is 
now before you, and it certaiidy resembles very closely the 
head of this fish. In connection with the head and tail sent 
by Mr. Vicary, he writes as follows : — 

" This salmon measured 47^^ inches long ; it was 38 J lbs. 
weight ; and was a female fish. I mention this, as we all at 
first adjudged it a male ; but I cut it up for kippering, and 
found it to be a female with roe, and the unusual shape of 
the head was at once attributed by the Norw^ians to aga 
1 recollect many circumstances about this fish very vividly, 
as I had previously caught a fish half an hour before 34J lbs., 
which measured 45 inches, and I imagined I should never 
get another so large, when almost the first cast afterwards 
yielded the fish I now send the head of The tail, when the 
fish was caught, was nearly square, but the drying up it has 
undergone has made it appear circular." 

Thus it will be seen that this remarkable head is common 
to both sexes, and attributed by the Norwegians to age, who, 
as Mr. Vicary remarks, '* know a salmon as well as a Devon- 
shire farmer does a sheep." 

♦ Soe "Ichtyologie ou llistoiro Naturello genorale et particuliere des 
Poiflsons.'* Par Marc £. Bloch, vol. iii. p. 112. 



ON THE SALMONIDiE OF DEVON. 321 

I have added in the Appendix already mentioned a detailed 
description of the two Devonshire fish, which will help those 
who are interested in the subject to examine more particularly 
the characteristics they present, and enable other observers to 
make a more minute comparison with them on points not 
already alluded to. 

THE SALMO GRACILIS, OR SLENDER SALMON OF COUCH. 

A species of salmon, differing in several points from the 
ordinary ScUmo salar, has been observed by several naturalists 
as occurring occasionally in various parts of our island. It 
was recorded by Fleming as S. hucJw, from his belief that it 
was similar to a fish taken in the Danube of that name ; but 
since then Dr. Gunther has shown that the characters assigned 
to the English fish do not apply to the German species. 
Mr. Couch in his work on fishes records this fish as the 
" Slender salmon," and states that the example fi*om which 
his figure was taken was caught in the river Fowey in the 
month of January, and that a copy of it was sent to 
Mr. Yarrell, who, in his reply, did not think it a distinct 
species, but a fish that had suffered from some cause of an 
adverse character to its healthy development. 

In the examinations I have made of the Devonshire 
caught specimens of the salmonidae during this year, and 
which have been very many, I have met with two specimens 
agreeing with the description of Mr. Couch's slender salmon. 
These fish were caught in the river Taw in the month of 
July, and in weeks immediately following each other. 

The fish I more particularly examined measured from 
point of snout to end of the middle rays of the caudal fin 
28 inches, and the girth immediately in front of the dorsal 
fin 13 inches. The scales were rather large, giving a coarse 
appearance to the fish; the general colour a little darker 
than an ordinary salmon. From the lanky growth of the 
fish it had the appearance of a salmon out of condition 
excepting the head, which was not large, but small and neat 
looking. The palatines and jaws were well supplied with 
teeth, but there were none on the vomer ; and the description 
of Couch's fish so closely applied to this, and his plate so 
nearly resembled it, that I have no hesitation in pronouncing 
it to be a specimen of the slender salmon. 

Fleming states that the flesh of S. ffucfio, described by 
him, was pale and white-looking; and Yarrell believes the 
skin he had to have been from a fish out of season ; and, as 
above stated, the general aspect of this fish, except from the 



322 OK THB BAUfONIDiB 01 DIVON. 

small appearance of its head, gi^ve the same impresdon. But 
such was not the case. In cutting into the fish, the flesh 
proved of a high pink colour, deeper than in oidinanr cases, 
and layers of fi&t were seen between the fine pink flakes of 
flesh, showing it to be in high season. From these circum- 
stances then it cannot be considered a fish like Mr. Yarreli's* 
which "received its form from being detained for some 
time in a fresh-water pond, or in some river, the water 
of which did not suit it ;" but on the contrary, a fish in full 
condition, and, however rarely met with in our rivers, one 
having an independent existence, and well named by Couch 
Salmo gracilis, 

CONCLUSION. 

I have now noticed the various members of the salmon 
fiunily found in Devon, and from what has been said it will 
be seen that much of their history still remains doubtful and 
obscure. Let us hope that as our society carries its labours 
into difierent parts of the county, and the subject is discussed 
at its various meetings, that a more extended interest upon it 
will be created, and new enquirers will enter this field of 
observation. That such extended observations, carefully re- 
corded, will do much to clear away the difficulties lyjr which 
the question is surrounded I fully believe, and from such 
belief I have ventured to again bring the subject under the 
notice of the society. 



r\ 



APPENDIX. 



coNTAnmro ▲ fubtheb description of ths fish alluded to 

IN TOIS PAPEB. 

No. 1. Length from point of snout to the extreme end of 
the central rays of caudal fin, 17 inches. Greatest girth, 
8} inches. Length from point of snout to extreme point of 
gill-covers, 3 inches. Length from point of snout to centre 
of eye, IJ inch. Length of the longest ray in caudal fin, 
2f inches; and shortest ditto, J of an inch. Length of 
pectoral fin, 2 inches. Head to end of gill-cover, about | of 
the whole fish to the insertion of caudal fin. Posterior 
margin of gill-cover rounded, and the lower margin directed 
obliquely upwards and backwards in a line with the base of 
the first ray of the dorsal fin, that fin having twelve rays. 



ON THE SALMONIDiE OF DEVON. 323 

Pre-operculum rather angular. Dorsal fin situated exactly 
half-way between the point of upper jaw and the base of 
the central caudal rays; the first ray short and simple, the 
second also simple, the rest branched; the third ray the 
longest, and as long as the distance from its base to the end 
of the fin. Adipose fin situated a little nearer to the dorsal 
fin than to the end of the caudal rays, and in a vertical line 
over the base of the last anal ray. Pectoral fins as long as the 
base of dorsal fin; the first ray simple, the others branched, 
and second and third longest. Ventral fin rising in a line 
under the insertion of the eighth ray of the dorsal ; the first 
ray simple, the others branched, the second the longest. The 
eye situated half-way between the point of the snout and 
upper comer of gill-cover. Mouth large, maxillaries reaching 
so far back as to be in a vertical line with the posterior 
maigin of the orbit. Teeth full on the palatines and jaws ; 
three on the tongue, one having apparently been broken ofiF, 
and two on the vomer placed in quite the anterior portion. 
The colour of back and sides a blue -grey, being lighter 
towards the belly, which becomes a silvery-white. Above 
the lateral line are many black spots, and below it towards 
the forepart about six. Operculum, with one round black 
spot. Number of scales from medial line to dorsal fin 21, 
and 14 from medial line to anal fin. Number of coecal 
appendages, 56. Fin rays-D, 12; P, 13; V, 9; A, 10; C, 19. 
Number of vertebrae, 60. Flesh when boiled, a deep pink, 
but with little fat. Sex, male. 

No. 2. Length from snout to the extreme end of the 
central rays of caudal fin, 16J inches. Greatest girth in 
front of dorsal fin, 8^^ inches. Length from snout to end of 
gill-cover, 3J, being as one to five of the whole fish, caudal 
fin included. Eye about J of an inch nearer the snout than 
the corner of gill cover. Dorsal-fin situated rather nearer 
the snout than the base of the central caudal rays: first 
dorsal ray not half a length of second, and both simple; 
third longest, and it and the remainder branched; the last 
two of equal length, and half the length of the fourth. 
Central rays of caudal fin much more than half the length 
of the longest ray in the same fin. Ventral fin rising in a 
vertical line under the last ray but four of the dorsal fin; 
second and third rays the longest, and the last shortest. 
Pectorals much longer than the base of the dorsal fin, and 
nearly the same in length as the longest caudal ray; first 
simple, second and third longest, and the last shortest. 
Head rather large. Teeth on the palatines and maxillaries. 



324 ON THE SALMONIDiE OF DEVON. 

and two on the anterior of the vomer, six on the tongue; 
the under jaw filieA Colour, brownish-blue; darker on the 
back and sides, and becoming lighter under the medial line, 
under which a kind of creamy white. Dorsal fin light 
grey, with slight indication of spots. Caudal fin dusky-grey. 
Pectorals dusky -grey on upper half, and lighter below. 
Ventrals dull-whita Spots above lateral line extending to 
base of tail, and broken in form; spots below the line about 
fourteen, and chiefly towards the anterior part of the fish; 
spots not so conspicuous on shoulders and dorsal line, being 
hardly traceable in the darker shade; three round spots on 
operculum, and one on the pre -operculum. Number of 
scales from dorsal fin counted backward to lateral line, 23. 
Fin rays— D, 11 ; P, 13; V, 9; A, 10; C, 19. Vertebrae, 59. 
Flesh when cooked, rather a light pinkish-orange, but juicy 
when tasted. Sex, femala 

No. 3. Length from point of snout to end of central rays 
in caudal fin, 13 inches. Head rather less than ^ of whole 
length, caudal fin included. Girth seven inches. Dorsal fin 
half-way between point of nose and the base of long caudal 
ray. Third ray longest, but not quite so long as the base of 
the fin. First and second rays simple, and the rest branched. 
Caudal ray slightly forked, and the middle ray of that fin a 
little more than half the length of the longest ray of the 
same fin. Third ray the longest, and much longer than any 
ray in the dorsal. Origin of the ventral under the last but 
six of dorsal, and the third ray the longest. Pectorals pointed, 
and second and third rays the longest, and nearly as long as 
the longest caudal ray. The last pectoral ray the shortest 
Adipose fin in a line a little behind the insertion of the last ray 
of the anal, and a little nearer to the tip of the tail than to the 
last ray of the first dorsal. The mouth well filled with teeth, 
those on the vomer, extending towards the back, and six on 
the tongue. The spots inclining to x shaped, but not all 
definitely so. The colour of the back darkish blue, sides 
lighter and of a more glossy blue, running into white on the 
belly. Anal fin white ; ventral white ; pectorals bluish- 
grey, and lighter towards the end. Head dark greenish-blue, 
and cheeks and gill-covers lighter blue.. Spots on sides not 
very numerous, about 60 above lateral line and 20 below, 
and no spots on gill-cover. Dorsal fin dusky grey, and in- 
distinctly spotted. Caudal very dusky-blue. Twenty-two 
scales counted obliquely backwards from the middle of dorsal 
fin to lateral line. Ccecal appendages, 48. Fin rays— D. 12 ; 
P. 13 ; V. 10 ; A. Vertebrai, 58. Flesh of a pale orange 
pink, and rather juicy. 




<>^t^ 






l^^ 






i^^ 



<D 




1 



ON THE SALMONIDiE OF DKVON. 325 

No. 4. AmoDgst the numbers of peal examined by me 
this season I met with another fish which, in colour and 
general form, resembled No. 2, but which presented a very 
remarkable look from the large size of its head. Its full 
length, from point of snout to middle of caudal fin, 23 inches ; 
its greatest girth in front of the dorsal fin, 11 inches ; from 
snout to posterior point of gill-cover, 5| inches ; from point 
of snout to posterior margin of orbit, 2^ inches ; gape, 3J 
inches ; large and incurved teeth on tlie palatines and jaws, 
and on the vomer, extending back, and on the tongue. The 
head altogether coarse-looking, and approaching the appear- 
ance of a pike. Middle rays of caudal fin more than half the 
length of longest ray of same fin. Ventral fin inserted in a 
vertical line with the eighth ray of the dorsal fin. Fin rays 
— D. 13; P. 13; V. 9; A. 11; C. This fish agreed in 
appearance with Parnell's plate of the large-headed bull 
trout. 

No. 5. The weight 201bs. The length from point of snout 
to extreme of central of caudal rays, 39 inches. Length 
from snout to posterior point of gill-cover, 8 inches. Girth 
in front of caudal fin, 19 inches. Length from snout to pos- 
terior margin of orbit, 3f inches; and from that point to end 
of gill-cover, 4 J inches. Dorsal fin situated nearly half-way 
between the head and point of caudal fin. Second dorsal ray 
the longest, and the last but one the shortest. The second 
dorsal fin in a vertical line over the last ray in the anal fin. 
Central rays of the caudal fin more than half the length of 
the longest rays in the same fin. Insertion of ventral fin in 
a vei-tical line with the eighth ray of the dorsal. Teeth on 
the palatines and jaws, and three in the centre of the vomer, 
and one on each side of the tongue. Twenty-one scales from 
dorsal fin to lateral line; scales generally large. The colour 
much darker in general aspect than salmon generally, 
having more of a green and brown hue than one of blue. 
Colour of head an olive-green ; the sides behind the mouth 
lighter yellowish-green. Back dark bluish-brown, the sides 
lighter, and yellowish lower down, belly creamy-white. The 
back and sides with large black-brown spots, intermingled 
with red ones. On the operculum twenty-one spots of the 
same colour, and on the pre-operculum seventeen on one side, 
and fifteen on the other. Dorsal fin dusky brown, with seven 
spots. Pectorals dusky, darker towards the point. Ventral 
and anal fins yellowish-white. The body thicker and more 
clumsily made than salmon generally, tapering less behind 
the anal fin. Head not large, but more of a trout look about 



326 ON THE SALMONlDiB OF DEVON. 

the general aspect of the fish than that of a salmon. The 
flesh cut pink. Fin rays— D. 13; P. 18: V. 9; A. 10; C. 19. 
(General aspect heavy and stout rather than elegant Brachioa- 
t^geous rays on each side, 10. 

No. 6. Colour and general appearance similar to Na 5, 
but its dimensions much greater. Length from snout to end 
of centre rays of caudal fin, 47 inches. Its greatest girth in 
front of caudal fin, 23 inches; weight, 36 lbs. From nose to 
posterior portion of gill-cover, 10| inches; from nose to pos- 
terior of orbits 5| inches; from posterior of orbit to 'Corner 
of gill-cover, 3i inches. Dorsal fin situated midway between 
iiOse and posterior portion of caudal fin. Second dorsal 
opposite last ray in anal fin. Longest ray in caudal fin, 
6 inches; shortest^ 3^ inches. Eye midway between point 
of nose and posterior point of gill-cover. Second ray in 
dorsal fin the longest, being 5 inches. Length of pectoral 
fin 5^ inches, same as base of dorsal The teeth on the pala- 
tines and maxillaries were few, having been apparently 
broken off; three on the vomer, about the middle of the month, 
and three on the tongua Number of scales on the lateral 
line, 117 ; and on a biMskward line from dorsal to lateral line, 
21 scales. Caudal fin, when spread, about straight Its 
colour dusky, with spots. Dorsal fin also dusky, with spots. 
Pectorals dark on the upper sides and lighter under, and the 
lower half also lighter. Ventrals darker on the upper, ^; 
and the anal fin on the lower, f dark. The general colour 
and appearance the same as No. 5. Coecal appendanges, 66. 
Fin rays— D. 13; P. 13; V. 9; A. 9; C. 19. Branch. 10 on 
a side. 



\ 



PASSAGE OF THE MOUNT CENIS. 

BT GEORGE NEUMANN, 
uniBm or thb inst. of citil bmoikksbs, amd chevalieb de la lboiom d* hoxnevb. 



DUBING a long period of years suggestions had been made 
for the purpose of diminishing the time, cost, and the fatigue 
of the journey across the Alpine range separating France 
and Switzerland from Italy. One of the most frequented 
and direct routes from Paris into Italy is that which passes 
through Chambery in Savoy, and up the valleys of the Isere 
and Arc as far as Lanslebourg, whence it ascends the Mount 
Cenis, in a zig-zag direction, to an elevation of 6,900 feet 
above the level of the sea. It then descends by a variety of 
contours into the valley of the river Dora in Piedmont, at 
the head of which the town of Susa is situated. Having 
thus briefly given a geneml idea of the carriage road across 
this chain of mountains,. I will now describe the newly 
completed works, and those in course of construction. 

The railway system has gradually been extended across 
France to St. Michel, a small town situated in the valley of 
the Arc, and also throughout the north of Italy to the town 
of Susa above mentioned ; so that at the present time this 
one link between St. Michel and Susa is only wanting to 
unite, by an iron road. Home and Naples with Paris and 
other capital cities in northern Europe. To England, the 
Mount Cenis pass is of very great importance, as the establish- 
ment of a railway in that direction enables passengers on 
their way to India to embark at Brindisi for Alexandria, 
instead of following the usual route via Marseilles ; and thus 
saving twenty-four hours in their journey. 

In 1852 and the following years I laid out the railway line 
in Savoy on the French side of the Alps, sixty miles of which 
were constructed under my superintendence ; and in 1854 1 
was charged by the Victor Emmanuel Railway Company to 
report as to the shortest and best direction for a railway to 
connect their line with the Italian one, commencing at Susa. 



328 PASSAGE OF THE MOUKT CENI8. 

The line then selected was near to that previously proposed 
by Mr. Maus, a Belgian engineer, and on which a long tunnel 
would be required. The tunnel as proposed by me was 
slightly curved so as to pass it under some of the lowest 
ground, and obtain thereby the advantage of sinking a few 
shafts for the first three miles at each end of it. The Kailway 
Company was not however sufficiently powerful in a financiid 
point of view to undertake such a work; and during the 
summer of 1857 a law was passed by the Parliament at 
Turin, authorizing the government to make a straight tunnel 
nearly eight miles in length, and to construct and employ a 
system of drilling machinery invented in England. In 1864 
I presented a paper to the institution of Civil Engineers in 
London by which I demonstrated that eight years of time 
might have been saved by the adoption of shafts as I had 
suggested 

THE TUNNEL. 

On the 31st of August, 1857, the construction of a tunnel 
26 feet wide, 24 feet high, and 7^^ miles long was formally 
commenced; the northern end being 3,945 feet above the 
level of the sea, and the southern end 4,379 feet. By an 
agreement made between the French and Italian governments 
each state is to participate in the cost of the works ; and the 
year 1887 is fixed as the latest period for the completion of 
the tunnel with its approaches extending from St. Michel to 
Snsa. The tunnel is only being pierced from each end, and 
at the end of June last the length completed was about 5^ 
miles. During the month of June 122 yards were pierced, 
the number of men employed in and about the tunnel being 
about 2500. 

DRILLING MACHINERY. 

At each working face of the tunnel there is a leading 
gallery or heading 10 feet square, iu which is placed a frame 
carrying 10 drilling engines, each of which is worked 
separately by atmospheric pressure. In the course of six to 
eight hours these engines pierce 80 holes, each 3 feet deep ; 
four of the holes being 3 inches in diameter, and the re- 
mainder 1^ inches. The larger holes are placed in the centre 
of the gallery, and used only to give effect to the explosion ; 
the smaller holes are divided over the surface, and charged 
with gunpowder cartridges, those near the large centre holes 
being first fired. Previous to the blasting the frame carrying 
the ten drilling engines is withdrawn to a certain distance 



PASSAGE OF THE MOUNT CENIS. 329 

from the face, and as soon as the explosions are accomplished 
the loose material is cleared away. This process is repeated 
once in every t^n or fifteen hours, as follows : six to eight 
hours adjusting, drilling, and removing the engines ; one-and- 
a-half to two hours charging and firing; and three to five 
hours removing the debris. 

The widening out of the gallery to the full size of the 
tunnel is accomplished by manual labour in the usual manner. 
The drilling engines are each provided with two atmospheric 
cylinders, one containing a piston and piston rod, at the end 
of which a steel pointed drill is fixed. This with the piston 
is carried backwards and forwards by the admission of the 
air, and it performs 200 to 250 strokes per minute, striking 
the rock at each stroke. The second cylinder is used to work 
a rack and pinion wheels, by which a forward movement is 
given to the first cylinder as the drilling advances, and a 
rotary motion to the drill after each stroke. A jet of water 
is kept constantly playing into the holes for the purpose of 
clearing out the debris. By means of an experimental 
machine made in England I have seen a two-inch hole drilled 
in hard limestone two feet deep, in eight minutes; this 
however far exceeds the average of the work done at the 
tunnel. 



AIR COMPRESSING APPARATUS. 

The system employed until recently at the south end of the 
tunnel for compressing the air was by means of hydraulic 
rams, worked by a vertical column of water 85 feet high, 
obtained by diverting a mountain stream. At the north end 
of the tunnel water power is also employed in the following 
manner for compressing the air : On the river Arc, which 
passes at a distance of one-third of a mile from the mouth 
of the tunnel, and 300 feet below it, a number of large over- 
shot water-wheels are placed, each working two atmospheric 
pumps ; these force the air into large iron reservoirs, com- 
pressing it to seven or eight atmospheres. These pumps ai-e 
surrounded by cold running water so as to prevent them 
becoming hot by the heat thrown off from the air whilst 
being compressed The temperature in the compressers is 
40** centigrade (= 105° Fahrenheit), but in the receivers the 
same as the adjacent atmosphere. The air is conveyed from 
the reservoirs to the tunnel mouth in 7^ inch iron pipes, and 
thence to the working gallery, where it is found to have nearly 
the same pressure as in the lower reservoirs. 



830 PASSAGE OF THE MOUNT CENI8. 

STRATA, COST OF THE TUNKEL, AKD TIME OF OOMFLBTEOV. 

The material through which the tanud has been pieroed 
is of a schistose nature, and lai^ely mixed up wiUi quarts. 
It is very variable as to hardness, and the strata at the south 
end is more slaty and of a softer nature than that at tito 
nortL 

There are now 5^ miles of tunnel completed, and the total 
length is 7^ miles; 2^ are not yet pierced. Allowing tiie 
progress to be at the rate of 122 yards per month at the two 
faces, the whole length will be pierced by the spring of 1871. 
The cost of the Mount Cenis tunnel is not yet well ascertained, 
but it cannot be taken at less than Jg200 per lineal yardL 
This (compared with the cost^ say of £30 per yard, of rook 
tunnds mined in the usual manner by manual labour) is 
excessive, and it cannot be attributed solely to the use of 
machinery. It has, however, been proved at this tunnel that 
the rate of progress is much greater than it would have been 
if drilling machinery had not been employed at alL 

TEMPOBABT RAILWAY OYER THE MOUIVT CKtUSk 

An English company (having taken into consideration the 
probable time which may elapse before the great tunnel and 
the thirty-four miles in length of costly railway works 
required to connect it with the present lines are completed) 
has constructed a temporary railway, 48 miles long, over the 
top of the Mount Cenis. This line extends from the Italian 
station at Susa to the French station at St Michel, and it 
surpasses any other yet made, both as regards the steep 
gradients, the sharp curves, and the great elevation it attains. 
It follows the direction of the carriage- road, being generally 
laid on the outside edge of it, except at the sharp turns, 
where deviations are made in order to obtain curves of not 
less than 44 yards radius. The line is a single way, with a 
guage of 3ft. 7^in., sufficient sidings being provided at the 
stations. The summit level is 6907 feet above the sea, and 
the rise from Susa on the first 17 miles is 5225 feet^ averaging 
a rise of 307 feet per mile. The steepest gradients are 1 in 
12 for many miles in length ; that is, such an inclination as 
we should allow our horses to walk up on a turnpike road. 
In the districts most exposed to avalanches of snow, or to 
the fall of mountain debris, the line is protected by strong 
masonry arches; and for several miles where the snow is 
most subject to drift a corrugated iron roof has been con- 
structed over it. 



PASSAGE OF THE MOUNT CENIS^ 331 

This railway was projected by Mr. Fell, to whom great 
credit is due for the application of a centre rail placed on its 
side, and about nine inches above the ordinaiy rails. The 
engines are provided with four horizontal wheels, which 
work against the centre rail, and are set in motion by the 
same cylinders which drive the vertical wheels. A very 
great additional traction power is thus obtained without 
materially increasing the weight of the engine. In descend- 
ing the inclines, not only are ordinary breaks used, but the 
horizontal wheels on the engines can be employed for the 
same purpose, and the carriages are also each provided with 
a pair of horizontal friction wheels in addition to the common 
breaks. At all road crossings an ingenious plan has been 
adopted by which twenty or thirty feet of the central rail 
can easily be lowered so as to allow carts, &c., to pass. The 
engines weigh 22 tons with fuel and water, and the pas- 
senger trains, consisting of four carriages and a van, weigh 
about 17 tons each.* In October last Mrs. Neumann and I, 
accompanied Mr. Brassey, the constructor of the works, in 
the first passenger train, and I could hardly imagine, whilst 
we were looking up the mountain side into the fir plantations, 
clad with snow and thousands of feet above us, that we 
were actually trying to see an approaching railway engine 
descending towards us. At last, however, we obtained an 
occasional glimpse of it as it passed round some of the pre- 
cipitous rocks, and in half an hour it arrived at our feet In 
June last the line was opened to the public, and the trains 
have since run regularly, accomplishing the distance from St. 
Michel to Susa in rather more than four hours. It may be 
interesting to some of those present to know, that near the 
summit of the pass, and at an elevation of 6365 feet above 
the level of the sea, there is a lake about 1^ mile long and 
three-quarters of a mile wide, containing very good trout. 

* I have just received a letter £rom St. Michel, stating that the engines 
are now drawing 32 tons. 



ON THE MINERAL LOCALITIES OF DEVONSHIBK 

BT T0WN8H»n> X. HALL, V.O.a, BI€L 



In studying the various branches of natural history^ it la 
often necessary that the specific productions of acme par- 
ticular district^ or of one county, should be grouped tpgettier^ 
and viewed separately and by themselves, rather than mixed 
up with a number of similar productions from other districts 
or other counties. 

In order to accomplish this object in the best poisiUa 
manner, it is most desirable that each of our piovindal 
towns should have its own local museum, in which could be 
deposited specimens of all kinds found in the neighbooriKMxL 
Thus a lasting record of each new discovery would be formed, 
and at the same time a good work would be done by gather- 
ing together and classifying some of the common objects of 
nature, which, although surrounding us on all sides^ are pei^ 
fectly unknown and uncared for by the migority of peopla 
Much time and labour would also be spared to many a hard- 
working inquirer, who, in prosecuting some special branch 
of study, often finds it necessary either personally to examine 
particular localities, or to search into the conditions under 
which certain specimens have been found. 

In default of good local museums, much mfiy, however, be 
done by means of catalogues embracing the names of the 
localities which afford specimens in some well-defined class 
of either the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom. Many 
such lists have already been compiled, but many more are 
still required in order to complete the series in the manner 
which is due to our county, not only on account of its sixe, 
but also for its geological, botanical, and zoological wealth. 

All lists of this description will, no doubt, in course of 
time be necessarily subject to a slight amount of variation, 
caused by the exhaustion of some of the localities ; but the 
discovery of fresh habitats will generally be found (except in 
the case of some of the rarer plants) to keep up the supply 
of specimens. 

Thus far these remarks apply to the natural history of our 
county in general. I now come to one branch of it in particular. 



ON THE MINERAL LOCALITIES OF DEYONSHIKE. 333 

The minerals of Cornwall were catalogued some twenty 
years ago by the late Mr. Garby for the Eoyal Greological 
Society of Cornwall; but no good list of our Devonshire 
localities has, I believe, ever been published. Much of the 
information contained in the following notes has been derived 
from personal knowledge, and in such cases the minerals are 
described from specimens now in my collection. To this 
have been added numerous memoranda collected during the 
preparation of a more extensive work on the same subject,* 
in which I have endeavoured to tabulate the mineral locali- 
ties in each county of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Lastly, 
Phillips's Mineralogy has been consulted with reference to 
the occurrence in former years of minerals in localities where 
the specimens are now either rare, or totally exhausted. 

In making such a catalogue a difficulty arises at the very 
outset, which does not extend to corresponding lists in the 
other departments of natural history. This has regard to 
the insertion or omission of those species which are found 
almost universally distributed throughout a large area. For 
instance, if all the localities of Towanite (copper pyrites) 
were inserted, we should be obliged to give the name of 
nearly every mine in the neighbourhood of Tavistock, 
although, practically, with such a common mineral it is 
sufficient to include the names of those places only which 
aflford well -crystallized specimens. On the other hand, 
throughout the great range of carboniferous rocks which 
extend from Barnstaple on the north, to near Okehampton on 
the south, Towanite is extremely rare, and the occurrence of 
any kind of specimen would be of sufficient importance to 
be noticed. 

As a rule the following list contains the names of all 
localities from which specimens can be obtained sufficiently 
good to occupy a place in a local museum. It may, perhaps, 
be considered somewhat premature to speak of museums 
devoted wholly and solely to the natural history of a limited 
and well-defined area; but I trust before many years elapse 
their utility will be recognised, and they will be established 
and maintained not only in the city of Exeter, but also in 
each of the provincial towns which are sufficiently important 
to be visited by this Association for the Advancement of 
Science. 

^ <<The Mineralogists* Directory; or a Guide to the Principal Mineral 
Localitiee in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 



VOL. II. 



334 CATALOGUE OF DI70NBHIU KUniALB. 



CATALOGUE OF DEVONSHIRE MINESAI^S^ 

WRH THSXK PBOrCIFAL LOCAUmf. 



CLASS L-METALLIC MINERALS. 
ANTIKOHY. 

SULPHUBST 07 AVTIMOirT. 

AniifMmU. Fonnd sparingly in fibrous masses, and in •i«<w»lj^ 
Giystals associated with argentiferous galena, in tlie minea at 
Comlnnartui. 

BISMUTH. 

SULFUUJCSI OF BJUmUTU. 

BitmuMne has recently been fonnd in minnte arioolar cmtals 
in the Devon and Cornwall United Mines, and in the neif^Doar- 
hood of Tayistodk. Also at the Ivy Tor Mine, near Oksehan^toB. 

COBALT. 

ASSEinATB OF COBALT. 

Erytkrine^ or Cobalt Bloom, From Willsworthy Mine, near 
Tavistock. 

COPPEB. 

Native Copper occurs massive, crystallized, and in mossy or 
dendritic forms, at the Devon and Courtenay Mine, Great Devon 
Consols, Huel Crebor, and in numerous other mines near Tavistock. 

SULPHUBETS OF COPPEB. 

Bomite, or Purple Copper. Fine massive specimens, which 
acquire an iridescent tarnish on exposure to the air, are found at 
the Britannia and Prince Regent Mines, near North Moulton. 

Fahlert, Grey Copper^ or Tetrahedrite, Found massive in the 
Britannia and MoUand Mines, near North Moulton. Massive and 
crystallized at Combmartin, Beer Alston, and Tavistock. 

Towanite^ or Copper Pyritee. This is the most abundant of all 
the ores of copper. It occurs massive, disseminated, and crystal- 
lized, at Ashburton, and Huel Franco. In large tetrahedrons at the 
Virtuous Lady Mine, Buckland Monachorum ; Huel Robert, Sam- 



CATALOGUfi OP DEYONSHIBE MINEBAIA 335 

ford Spiney; Devon and Courtenay, Great Devon Consols, Huel 
Friendship, and Willsworthy Mines, near Tavistock; at Copper 
Hill, Fursdon Manor, and other mines, near Okehampton. In 
North Devon it is found in the Combmartin, North Moultcm, and 
MoUand Mines. Also in Lundy Island. 

OXIDES OF COPPEB. 

CupriU, or Red Copper, The massive varieties occur in most of 
the Devonshire copper mines. Crystallized specimens are found 
in the Bedford United Mines, and at Huel Crebor, near Tavistock. 

Chalcotrichite is a sub-species of the above, occurring in reticu- 
lated crystals, and in fibrous masses. It is found with cuprite in 
the Bedford United Mines. 

ABSENIATES OF COPPEB. 

CUnoekue. Found in hemispherical and reniform masses, struc- 
ture columnar and radiated. From the Bedford United Mines. 

Olwenite. In olive-green prismatic crystals; also fibrous and 
acicular. Bedford United Mines, near Tavistock. 

TamariUy or Copper Mica, Found in the Tamar mines, near 
Beer Ferris. 

HTDBOnS CiJLBONATES OF COPPEK. 

CheuyUte^ or Azurite. Occurs rarely in Devonshire. It is found 
lining cavities, or coating other ores of copper; also in good crystals 
at East Tamar Mine, near Beer Ferris. Small fragments have been 
observed amongst the refuse from the Combmartin Mines. 

Malachite, Found in small fragments, generally associated with 
cuprite, in several copper mines; also at BuckfasUeigh; Hennock, 
near Chudleigh ; and at Combmartin. 

GOLD. 

Native Chid, Phillips's Mineralogy,* published in 1823, con- 
tains the following notice relative to this metal : — '* Native gold 
has lately been found in the refuse of the Prince Regent Mine, vol 
the parish of North Moulton, in Devonshire. It is imbedded in 
grains and plates in a ferruginous fragmented quartz rock." The 
occurrence of gold at North Moulton was also noticed in Lpon's 
Magna Britannia, Some of the so-called gold gossan, found in the 
North Moulton mines since 1S50, has, however, on examination 
failed to afford me any trace of the precious metal, and I therefore 
do not insert it amongst the North Devon species, except on th^ 
authority of the two writers before mentioned. Small particles of 
gold are said to have been discovered on Sheepstor, DartmofNr. 

• Page 323. 
z 2 



836 CATALOGUE OF D1C70K8H1BI imnERAIA 

TBOV. 

SULPHnBE7tf OV IBOV. 

MarcanU — White Iron PprUe$, Fine crystallised ipeefaiieiia 
occur at the Tamar mines, near Beer Ferris. Aggregated eEyrtals 
of a large size have been found at the Yirtnous Ladv IGney near 
Buckland Monachorom, on crystallized quartz; also at Hnel 
Crowndale, Huel Crebor, and other mines in the vieinity of Tavis* 
tock. In ITorth Devon, at Gombmartin. Formerly found in eEyrtals 
peeudomorphous after calcite in modified hexagonal prinna it Hm 
Tamar mines, Beer Ferris. 

Mtipiekd — Anmieal Inm. The massive varietiea of this minflnl 
are very common in the various Tavistock mines. In the Tamar 
mines, near Beer Ferris, large crystals are found; also at fbe 
Virtuous Lady Mine, near Buckland Monachorum ; and at the Ivy 
Tor Mine, near Okehampton. 

Pyrits — Iron Pyrites. Almost universaUy distributed thnnii^Miiit 
the county. Disseminated in the rocks at Bishop's Tawton, YcdBi 
Biddngton, Yiveham, and other places near Barnstaple . jCmtal- 
lized in cubes at Gombmartin, and in trap ash at Pan«op8iiiaw< In 
the interior of fossil shells in a quarry near Tiverton^,. Lai^gj^ifialMi^ 
sometimes H inch iusross, are found at the Yii tiMiiin Jiitjl ICiiiit 
imbedded in decomposing chlorite; at Huel Bobei^ Saai&vd: 9|iU 
ney; Huel Friendship and other mines near Taviatodk. G^rpftab 
peeudomorphous after calcite are found near Tavistock, and hoUoir 
cubes after fluor at Beer Alston. 

Pyrrhotine — Magnetic Iron lyritee. Found in the mines at Beer 
Alston, and at Mddon Quarry, about two miles firom Okehampton. 

OXIDES OF IBON. 

Ooethite, Found accompanying hematite, limnite, and other ores 
of iron on Exmoor. 

Hematite — Specular Iron, or Red Iron Ore, Occurs abundantly 
throughout a large portion of the county. Fine specimens are 
found at Birch Tor Mine, near North Bovey; Lustleigh; Buckfeist- 
leigh ; Huel Forest, near Okehampton ; Hennock, near Ghudleigh ; 
and in several places on Dartmoor. In North Devon it is found at 
Bratton Fleming, Shirwell, East Down ; Yiveham, Georgeham, and 
elsewhere near Barnstaple; at Bideford; and in green sand at 
Buckland Brewer. At Ilfracombe, Combmartin, Lynton, West 
Down, North Moulton, and in several localities on Exmoor. 

Limnite, Brown Hematite, or Wood Iron Ore, is almost as 
widely distributed as the preceding species. Occurs with hema- 
tite at Buckfastleigh ; Huel Robert, Sampford Spiney; Huel Betsy, 
near Tavistock ; and at Copper Hill Mine, near Okehampton ; on 

« Op. cit., page 70. 



CATALOGUE OF DEYONSHIHU MINERALS. 337 

Ezmoor, and at East Down and Yivcham, near Barnstaple ; also 
at Buckland Brewer, near Bideford. Pseudomorphous after pyrite, 
at Hennock, near Chudleigh. 

Umber is an earthy variety of limnite, found with iron ores at 
Combmartin. It was also formerly raised in considerable quantities 
in the parishes of East Down and Berry Narbor ; also at Ugbrook 
Parky near Chudleigh. 

YfUow Oehre is another sub-species of limnite, and is found in 
the same localities as umber. 

These two last minerals are thus noticed in 1797 by Polwhele 
in his " History of Devonshire : " — 

^'The parish of East Down (7 miles from Barnstaple) and its 
neighbourhood abound with umbers and ochres of a variety of 
colours ; as, red, yellow, orange, white, brown, pearl coloured, and 
sometimes, not often, blue."* 

Further information on the same subject is given by Lysons, 
in << Magna Britannia." 1822. ''Large quantities of ochre occur 
in the parish of East Down. In the year 1785 Mr. Pine Coffin 
set np d manufactory there for grinding it. Timber raised at Berry 
Karbor was sent thither to be ground with it ; and for three years 
45 tons, on an average, were shipped and consigned to London; but 
fitom diftonlties which occurred in managing the concern, Mr. Pine 
Coffin was induced to discontinue it. Whilst the conoem was 
carried on, these articles were much in use by the paper stainers. 
The timber was esteemed to be of particularly good quality."* 

Magnetite — Magnetic Iron Ore, Found at Buckland-in-the-Moor, 
near Ashbnrton ; at Ilsington and Hay Tor, on Dartmoor, — ^in the 
latter locality associated with felspar and hornblende, — ^near Tavi- 
stock, and also in veins at Lundy Island. 

TUWOSTATE OP IRON. 

Wolfram has been found in the Tavistock Mines. 

PHOSPHATE OF IBOIT. 

Vivumite. Fine crystallized specimens have been found at Huel 
Betsy, near Tavistock, accompanying chalybite and limnite. 

Childrenite. This rare species was first discovered in cutting a 
canal near Tavistock. It occurred in minute crystals in chalybite 
and pyrite. More recently it has been found at the Devon and 
Cornwall United Mines, and at Huel Crebor, near Tavistock, where 
the crystals are imbedded in chloritic earth.f 

• Op. oit., vol. vi. pa^ 290. 

t Although childrenite contains upwards of 30 per cent, of protoxide of 
iron, it has been omitted from the list of metallic minerals by nearly all our 
^ authorities." In ** Dana*8 Mineralogy " this species is described as occur- 
rinff in Derbyshire, whereas it has never yet been found out of Devonshire 
uid Com wall. 



838 OATALOGUB OF DXVONSHIBB MDnERAUL 

CABBOVAIK 07 IBOir. 

ChaUfhiUf SideriU, or 8paiho9$ Iron, MaMive dialyUie of a 
beautifol white colour was found in a railway catting at ELjnij^toiL 
Fine cryBtals occur in many of the mines near Tayistoeik, eapeeaMllj 
in the following : Huel Betsy, Huel Crehor, Hnel ErieiKlBhipy and 
the Bedford United Mines. Crystals pseudomorphoos after caleite 
are found in the Beer Alston Minea Hollow cabes of dudyiiite^ 
which had originally been deposited as a coating over oryiteb of 
either fluor or pyrite, occur at the Virtuous Lady Mine. In flw 
same locality are found large flat hollow crystals, which from their 
shape are called ''Slippers." Inferior specimens of the tamtf 
variety have also been met with at Huel Friendship and the Beer 
Alston Mines. Curved tabular crystals are found in groups of a 
rich brown colour at the Virtuous Lady Mine. In the nortbem 
diviaion of the county chalybite is found at Combmartin and Ml 
Ezmoor. 

liSAD. 

SULPnUKEIS 07 LEAD. 

OtUtna. Crystals of galena occur at the Tamar H]iie% aal 
Bast Tamar Mines, near Beer Ferris; at Hennodk^ near C'hufflffigfci 
The principal localities near Tavistock are the Devon and ConttsDaj 
Mine, Hud Betsy, and Huel Friendship. 

Argentiferous galena is found in the Beer Alston Miasi^ whii« 
the ore often contains firom 80 to 120 ounces of silver to the ton 
of lead.* In the same vicinity the South Hoo Mine formerly 
afforded a large per centage of silver. Near Okehampton it is 
found at the Okehampton Consols, and at Holestock. In North 
Devon galena, containing as much silver as that from Beer Alston, 
is found at Combmartin, where it has been worked since the 
twenty-secx)nd year of King Edward I. (1294), and it has recently 
been worked in the adjoining parish of Berry Narbor. Small 
fragments of argentiferous galena were found some years ago in 
the carboniferous rocks in the parish of Landkey, near Barnstaple. 

BoumoniU — Antimonial Sulphur et of Lead, Has been found in 
the Boer Alston Mines, near Beer Ferris, associated with galena. 

ABSENIATE OF LEAD. 

MimetiU is found with the other lead ores at the Beer Alston 
Mines. 

PHOSPHATE OF LEAD. 

Pyromorphite, Occurs with the preceding species at Beer 
Alston, in a masses of a grey colour. 

* Dd la Beche's Report, p. 612. 



CATALOGUE OF DEVONSHIRE MINEBALS. 389 

SULPHATE OF LEAD. 

AngUnU. Found about ten years ago in fine colourless crystals 
at the East Tamar Mine, in geodes of decomposed galena. Also 
at Beer Alston. 

CABBONATB OF LBAD. 

CerumU, Associated with anglesite in decomposed galena, at 
the East Tamar Mine, Beer Perris. Also at the Tamar Mines in 
the same vicinity, and at Hennock, near Chudleigh, in small 
acicular crystals. 

MANGANESE. 

OXIDES OF MANGANESE. 

Manganite — Or ey Manganese. In fine prismatic crystals at Upton 
Pyne, near Exeter. Also at Doddiscombleigb, near Chudleigh. In 
North Devon. At West Devon, imbedded in sandstone. 

Psilomelane, Pound at Chudleigh, and at Ashton, near Chud- 
leigh. In fine botryoidal and stalactitic specimens at Black Down 
and Brent Tor, near Tavistock. At East Down, Georgeham, West 
Down, and Yiveham, all in the neighbourhood of Barnstaple. 
Near Bideford, and at Orleigh Court, in the parish of Buckland 
Brewer. 

Pyrolunte, Occurs at Brent Tor and Tavistock. Associated with 
other manganese ores at Upton Pyne, near Exeter; and near Barn- 
staple at Georgeham and Yiveham. 

Wad — Earthy Manganese, In earthy masses of a dark brown 
cdoar at Upton Pyne, near Exeter. 

SILICATE OF MANGANESE. 

Rhodonite — Red Manganese, Found with psilomelane at Black 
Down, near Tavistock, and with the other ores of manganese at 
Upton Pyne. 

CABBONATS OF MANGANESE. 

DiMogite, Supposed to have been found at Bovey Tracey. 
NICKEL. 

AB8ENICAL NICKEL. 

Xupfemickeh From Blackdown, near Tavistock, where it 
occurs with rhodonite and psilomelane. 

SULPHUEET OF NICKEL. 

Millerite, This very rare mineral has been found in minute 
filaments lining cavities, and dispersed amongst crystals of galena, 
at Combmartin and near Ufracombe. 



840 CATALOGUE OF DKVORSHIBE inHSUUL 

SXLySB. 

Native SUner. Ocean rarely in DevoiiBhire. It has been Ibaiid 
at the Willsworthj Mine, near Tayistock, acoompamed hj elythzine 
and towanite. Small filaments have been obsenred in gahana, in 
the Combmartin mines. By far the largest proportion of the iQTer 
obtained firom the mines in this county is extracted from lead ore; 
and its principal localities has been before noticed under the head 
of Argentiferous Gkdena. 

TIV. 

OXIDE OF TUT. 

Catiitertte. Has not been found in any part of the notfhen 
division of the county, its localities being confined to the borden 
of Dartmoor. Crystals are found near Tavistock, at Bix Hill; at 
Huel Sidney, near Flympton; at Huel Franco and Tedand Cooeoila, 
near Buckland Monachorum ; Bircli Tor Mine, near North Bovej; 
AshburtonMine; Chagford; and other localities on Baitmoor. 

r 

TXTAVZUM. 

OXIDES OF TirAKIUM. 

Anaiats, Occurs near Tavistock, and in smaU but ' 
oiystals imbedded in chlorite at the Virtuous Lady Mme, ] 
Monachorum. 

BrookiU, Has been found "with the preceding speoiea 
Tavistock, and at the Virtuous I>dy Mine in microacopio OTitds^ 
which are imbedded in chalybite, 

SILICATE OP TITAiriUH. 

Sphene. Very rare ; not only in Devonshire, but throughout the 
United Kingdom. It has been found accompanying anatase at the 
Virtuous Lady Mine, where it occurs in smaU yellowish crystals in 
chlorite. 

TUNGSTEN. 

Wolfram. See Iron^ Tungntate of, 

Scheelite. See Limej Tungstate of 

UBANIXTM. 

PH08P0ATE OF UBANIUM AKD OOPPEB. 

Torherite occurs in small crystals with the ores of copper at the 
Bedford United Mines, near Tavistock. 

ZINO. 

SVLPHURET OF ZTSC, 

Blende, Generally associated with galena. Found at the Beer 
Alston Mines and Tamar Mines, near Beer Ferris ; Huel Betsy and 
Huel Friendship, near Tavistock; Hennock, near Chudlcigh; 
Landkey, near Barnstaple ; and in the mines at Combmartin. 



CATALOGUE OF DEVONSHIKE MQIERALS. 341 



CLASS II.-NON-METALLIC MINERALS. 

ALUMINA AND ITS C0MP0T7NDS. 

SILICATES OF ALUMINA. 

AndalusiUf in attached and imbedded crystals, is said to occur 
on Dartmoor, and also in the neighbourhood of Okehampton. 

Chiastolitej a variety of the above species, is found in small 
crystals penetrating an altered Bevoniun slate at Ivy Bridge, and 
also associated with axinite at Holestock, near Okehampton. 

HTDBOrS SILICATE OF ALT7MINA. 

Kaolin — China Clay^ arises from the decomposition of felspathic 
granite. Is found in large quantities at Plympton and near Bovey. 

Liihomarge, In amorphous yellow masses, associated with agate, 
at Hay Tor, and with apatite and tourmaline at Bovey Tracey. 

HTDKOUS PHOSPHATE OF ALUMINA. 

WaveUiU, This rare mineral has hitherto been found in only 
one locality in this county — ^Filleigh, near South Moulton. It was 
first discovered about the year 1785, by Mr. I. Hill, of Tawstock, 
and being mistaken for a pure hydrate of alumina, it was called 
Hydrargillite, until Dr. Wavell, of Barnstaple, about thirty years 
afterwards, showed that phosphoric acid was present in large quan- 
tities ; and the substance, which thus constituted a new species, was 
named Wavellite. The usual form of this mineral is that of a 
hemisphere, varying in size from -^j^ of an inch to one inch in 
diameter. When broken, the internal structure is found to bo 
composed of acicular crystals finely radiated. Wavellite is also 
frequently found filling small crevices in the slate rock, and not 
having had sufficient space to crystallize in its primary form, it has 
accommodated itself to the breadth of the fissure, spreading out and 
covering the surfaces of the rock with a profusion of radiated 
circles, which are sometimes two inches in diameter, and vary in 
thickness from ^ inch to a film not more than ^^ inch in thickness. 
Colour, generally white, but also occasionally shaded with grey, 
yellow, brown, and blue. 

ALUMINA ANO OLUCINA, SILICATE OF. 

Beryl, Bough crystals have occasionally been found with garnet 
at Lustleigh, near Bovey. 

ALUMINA AND IRON, SILICATE OF. 

StawroliU. In Bristow's "Glossary of Mineralogy" staurolite 
is deaeribed as occurring in clay slate in Devonshire. No locality 
if q>ecified, but it woidd probably be found along the borders of 
Dartmoor* 



842 GATALOOUX OF DK70HBHIB1 UHIEAUB. 

ALUlCarA, IBOK AXB XAaiTESIAy HTOBOUS 8QJGATB 07. 

ChloriU. Amorphous chlorite is found in most of the oof^or 
mines in South Devon, especially at the Yirtooiis Lidj lixoB^ 
Buckland Monachorum, with anatase and sphene. At the Beron 
and Cornwall United Mines ; Huel Friendship, near Tayistock, ftc. 
Crystals of chlorite, pseudomorphous after azinitei are met with 
on Dartmoor. 

ALUMIKA AVD POTASH, HTTJCATIW OF. 

FeUpar^ as a constituent of granite, is found tfaroo^oat the 
whole of the Dartmoor district. It occurs in czystals at Birdi 
Tor Mine, North Bovey ; Hay Tor ; Ivy Bridge ; and in ihie led 
crystals at Bovey Tracey. Also with rock crystals and schodL oil 
Lundy Island. 

Murehuonite is a red or flesh-coloured variety of fblspar, found 
at Heavitree, near Exeter, Dawlish, and in many other places. It is 
found in soiled pebhles imbedded in the sandstones, and oongUmie- 
rates of the Trias formation. 

Mtca, Occurs as an essential ingredient in the graaitea of 
Dartmoor and Lundy Island. In while silvery plates neiur Bevey 
Tracey. 

ALUIOKA AND POTASH, BTDBOXTS SULPHATE OF. 

Alum. In clay at Chudleigh. 

ALUXnrA, ETC., BOBO-SILICATE 07. 

Tourmaline. Yery largo black crystals were found some years 
ago, accompanied by crystals of apatite, in a quarry of red granite 
near Bovey Tracey. It occurs also at North Bovey, Chudleigh, 
and in several localities on Dartmoor. 

Schorl is a variety of the above. It occurs massive or dissemi- 
nated in granite at many localities on Dartmoor. At Birch Tor 
Mine, North Bovey, Bovey Hoathfield, Chagford, Chudleigh, Hay 
Tor, and near Okehampton. Also on Lundy Island. 

BABYTA. 

SULPHATE OF BABTTA. 

Baryte. Found in tabular crystals at Babbicombe Bay, near 
Torquay. Massive at Honnock, near Chudleigh, and occasionally 
near Okehampton. 

LIME. 

TUNGSTATE OF LIME. 

Scheelite, In crystals, sometimes an inch and a half in length, 
at Huel Friendship, near Tavistock. They are of a rich yeUow 
colour, and are imbedded in chlorite, and associated with Wolfram. 



CATALOGUE OF DE70K8HIRE MINERALS. 343 

SULPHATE OF LDCB. 

Oppium. Although abandant in Somersetshire, gypsum is 
rarely met with in Devon. It is said to have been found near 
Sidmouth in the red sandstonoi associated with celestine. 

PHOSPHATE OF UHE. 

Apatite. Found in cream-coloured translucent crystals, occa- 
sionally two inches in length, at Bovey Tracoy, associated with 
tourmaline. In crystalline masses at Huel Franco, near Buckland 
Monachorum ; and in crystals with schorl at Chudleigh and Bovey 
Heathfield. 

CASBONATES OF LIME. 

Aragonite, Occurs along the shores of Torbay in acicular 
crystals ; also at Buckfastleigh. The white compact form is found 
at Ufracombe, together with the fibrous variety, in thin seams or 
veins traversing the slate. The coralloidal aragonite, commonly 
known by the name of fla» ferriy occurs at Combmartin lining 
cavities in the limestone. Some of the finest specimens in the 
county have been met with in these two last localities. 

Calcite. This species is almost universally distributed throughout 
the county. In crystals at the Beer Alston mines, Beer Ferris; 
Huel Friendship, near Tavistock; at the limestone quarries at 
Plymouth and Torquay. In North Devon, at Combmartin ; and at 
Venn limestone quarry, near Barnstaple. 

Dolomite — Magnesian Lime. Occurs in crystals with fluor at the 
Beer Alston and South Hoo mines, near Beer Ferris. 

FLUATE OF LDCE. 

Fluor — Fluor Spar. Found in cubes and octahedrons of a large 
size at the Beer Alston mines; also fibrous and compact. On^ 
crystal from this locality, described by Phillips, would, if perfect, 
have been bounded by no less than 322 planes. Also at the Tamar 
mines ; Huel Franco ; and the Virtuous Lady Mine, near Buckland 
Monachorum ; and at Huel Friendship, near Tavistock. Fluor is 
not known to occur in North Devon. 

LDCB, ALUMIVA, ETC., SILICATE OF. 

Qamet. Found generally on Dartmoor; at Hay Tor; Brent Tor, 
near Tavistock; Lustleigh, near Bovey; Huel Forest; Fursdon 
Manor Mine; Meldon Quarry; and Copper Hill Mine; all near 
Okehampton. In the latter locality it is described by Mr. Ormerod* 
as forming a vein at least 180 feet in thickness, and having lodes 
of copper on each side. 

^ Tnuuaotioiis of the Devonshize Aasociation, voL ii p. 136w 



844 GATALOGITE OF DXVOHBHISI XIHBiia 

UMB, ALUIOVA, XTC., BOmtHOUCAXm OF. ' 

AxiniU, Found near Tavistock, at Brant Tor, witli actmiMte 
and gamet; also at Had Friendship. Fine speoimflna ooeur at 
Stioldepath, near Okehampton, and in several pliibea in Hie Tkimtj, 
sach as Ivy Tor and Copper Hill mines, Hod Foreati Fondoa 
Manor Minei and Meldon Qoarry. 

KAONBSZJu 

XAGVESIAy LDCB, AHB IBOK, SHICATB OF. 

JlanMmde. Massive hornblende is oommon in the neifl^ilioiuliood 
of Dartmoor. Hay Tor, Bovey Tracey, and StioUepath aiBrad good 
specimens. Several dykes of black hornblende ooeor in Luady 
Island. 

AetinoUU is a fibrons or radiated variety of the abovei It oeonii 
frequently in the vicinily of Okehampton, as at Stiddepitb^ Inir 
Tor Mine, and Hud Forest. Fine specimens oooor at Bmi Xoi^ 
near Tavistock, associated with gamet 

AikMtoi. Another fibrous variety of hornblende. Thete aonft tWD 
specimens of it in the Museum of I^ticd Geology, JfUmlpk StveeCi 
which are described as occurring in fissures of the new t& ittiiEl aA 
Seaton, Devonshire. They wera presented by Sir W. C. Tievdyan* 

8ILI0A. 

oxmss OF snjcov. 

Opal. Common opal is found at Hay Tor, on Dartmoor, Lust- 
leigh, near Bovey, and near Okchampton. 

Quart%. In beds or veins quartz is found more or less abundantly 
in every part of the county. Pscudomorphous after fluor in cubes 
and octohedrons at Beer Alston and South Hoo Mines, near Beer 
Ferris ; after calcite at Hay Tor Iron Mines. 

The following arc all varieties of quartz : — 

Agate. Found at Mary Church, near Torquay ; in pebbles at 
Sidmouth ; and with rock crystal at Hay Tor. 

Amethffst. Kadiated at Whitchurch Down, near Tavistock. It 
is found also in the neighbourhood of Okehampton, and on Dart- 
moor. 

Chalcedony. Stalactitic chalcedony has been found in the Beer 
Alston Mines. Fine botryoidal specimens occur at Hay Tor, where 
it is also met with pscudomorphous after calcite. It is also found 
near Sidmouth. 

Cherl is abundant on Haldon, near Exeter, and in the adjoining 
green sand district ; also in the green sand at Orleigh Court, in the 
parish of Buckland Brewer, near Bideford. 



CATALOGUE OF DSYONSHIBE lOKERALS. 345 

Flint is found in tho same localities and under the same con- 
ditions as chert ; also at Sidmouth. 

Haytorite consists of chalcedony in crystals, pseudomorphous 
after datholite. This is an extremely rare mineral, and only found 
at Hay Tor, on Dartmoor, whence it derives its name. 

JBTonutone occurs frequently in this county, as at the East 
Tamar Mine, Beer Ferris, and at Beer Alston, where it also is 
found pseudomorphous in the form of octahedral fluor. 

Jaap&r is found at Ivy Bridge; Doddiscombleigh, near Chudleigh; 
Okehampton ; Brent Tor, near Tavistock ; and occasionally in the 
green sand at Buckland Brewer, near Bideford. 

Moek Cryital. The finest crystals were discovered some years 
ago at Huel Friendship, near Tavistock. They were associated 
with chlorite, and occasionally attained the length of five or six 
inches. In the same neighbourhood crystals are found at Huel 
Bet^ and ol^er localities ; also at Gidleigh, near Moreton Hamp- 
stead ; Huel Bobert, at Sampford Spiney ; and near Okehampton. 
Large twin crystals are found at North Bovey. In the noiih of 
Devon small but very brilliant crystals occur imbedded in hematite 
at Georgeham and Yiveham, near Barnstaple ; also with pyrite at 
Combmartin. Very large crystals, sometimes of a black colour, 
have been found in the granite of Lundy Island. 

8TB0NTIAN. 

SULPHATE OF STBOKTIAN. 

CeUitine. My only notice of the occurrence of this mineral in 
Devonshire is taken from Greg and Lettsom's Manual of Mine' 
ralogy^ where it is described as found in transparent crystalline 
plates on gypsum at Sidmouth. It also is said to occur in flints in 
the same locality. 



CLASS in.--CAEBON AND ITS COMPOUNDS. 

Awtkraeite. Thin intermittent beds of anthracite stretch east- 
wards from Abbotsham, on the shores of Barnstaple Bay, through 
Bideford in a straight line to Hawkridge Wood, near TJmberleigh, 
a distance of about twelve miles. At Bideford the works, which 
have only recently been abandoned, are of very great antiquity, 
and extend for some distance underground. Sir H. De la Beche,* 
writing in 1838, states that the mines which were then at work 
product in a short period from 600 to 700 tons of anthracite. 
From the western mine 1500 tons were raised during one year; 

^ Beport on the Geology of CknnwaU, Devon, and West Sosnerset, p. 614. 



346 oJkTJOjyam ow divohbhiu koomaul 

whilst iiho Mstem mine, when in foil work, prodnoed 68 tons per 
week. The hed, which has eyerywhere heea renuyrad hj old 
workings to a depth of eight or ten fathoms, Ysiies in ihinknww 
from six inches to fourteen feet, the ayerage being seven fset. 

The culm or anthracite at Tawstock is mentiflaied bj PolwheLs 
in 1797 ; and Lysons* describes the works as being eztensiTely 
carried on about the middle of the last century. After befaig 
abandoned for a time they were re-opened about 1790, and ten 
years later they produced 900 bushels per wedk, the depth of the 
pit being then about 25 fathoms. There were two fmBB, d bant 
nine feet in thickness. 

Zi^ttSy or Bovey Cwd. The lignite of Bovey Traoey is so wdl 
known, that it is unnecessary to do more than refiar to it; end so 
numerous have been the papers on the subject reed befim tbe 
principal scientiflc societies, that its histoiy alone woeld oooofj' a 
tonsiderable space. For a deecripticm of the lignite depooti in- 
elnding the intercalated clay beds, see Mr. Pengelly's intweetin g 
fKg&t in the first report of tiiis Association. 

KXHSBAL BBSnfS. 

BUumm, Found many years ago at Chudleie^ wiQi lyatiie; 
also at Hud Crebor, near Tayistook. 

PfihijiUum^ a semifluid variely of the above, has been found at 
Chudleigh. 

Retinite, or ReUtMsphdltmm. In yellowish brown massos, with 

an earthy texture. Accompanies lignite at Bovey Tracey. 

* Magna Britannia, toI. vi. p. 292. 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORY. 

BT J. ER8KINE RISK, M.A. 



OxTB neighbouHB on the continent, who often flatter them- 
selves on having got the start of the children of perfidious 
Albion, have for some time plumed themselves on having 
obtained the key to a science, the very existence of which is 
far from clear to most of our English philosophers. That 
so-called science is "the science" of history. "The sole 
foundation for belief in the natural sciences," says Condorcet,* 
"is this notion that the general laws, known or unknown, 
which govern the phenomena of the universe, are necessary 
and constant. And why should this principle be less true for 
the development of the intellectual and moral faculties of 
man than for the other operations of nature?" (Simply 
because they are not in pari materid.) "Finally," he goes on 
to say, " since opinions formed after experience are the only 
rule of conduct of the wisest men, why should the philoso- 
pher be forbidden to rest his conjectures on the same basis, 
provided he does not attribute to them a certainty superior 
to that which may arise out of the number, constancy, and 
exactness of his observations ?" Just so. But conjectures of 
such limited certainty can hardly form the basis of a true 
science. The question then proposed to us by continental 
philosophers, and echoed to us from them by a few of our 
own writers, is just this : Is not a science of history pos- 
sible? If physical phenomena may be regarded as being 
governed by fixed and necessary laws, may not moral and 
social phenomena be proved to be subject to the same rule ? 
Hiere are upon this subject two widely separated schools of 
thought — the necessarian and the libertarian ; while to these 
may be added a third or intermediate school, which, attempt- 
ing to effect a compromise between both the former, borrows 
from each only so much as may make its own position 
tenable, forgetful all the while that thus it abdicates for its 

. * /'Eaqiiiflse d'un Tableau Historiqae des Progr^s de rjBsprit Homain." 



348 THB 8C1SNCB OF HUTTOBT. 

fiavoarite study the position of a science. Stoart Mill, in his 
exposition of the necessarian doctrine, is, I moat lemind 
you, particularly careful to prevent its being confounded with 
fatalism ; a mistake which, even by his own showing; must 
be a very natural one to fall into. According to this writer, 
''the true necessarian doctrine is, that whatever is aboofc to 
happen will be the infallible result of the causes which pro- 
duce it;" while fatalism maintains that "it is of no use strag- 
gling to prevent it— it will happen, however we may strivQ to 
prevent it" And yet, as Mill admits, that when a neceasaiian 
comes to believe that our actions follow from our chanuten^ 
he holds that these again are the inevitable result of oiganiJtir 
tion, education, and circumstances, it seems t>nly fSeur for aoeh a 
one to come to the conclusion that his nature is now so fimued 
that he cannot act otherwise than he is in the habit of acting. 
Mill indeed attempts to escape from this vicious eirole, and 
complains most pathetically of being misunderstood by thoan 
who insist that "this great doctrine," as he calls it, means 
that a man's character is not made by him, but^br him. Bat 
the way in which he seeks to evade the dUemma is not^ at 
least to me, satisfactory. " We are exactly, as oapaUa of 
making our own character, if we wiU, as others axe dT makii^ 
it for us." The element of will, you will observe^ is thus 
introduced to prevent necessarianism from lapsing into fiital- 
ism; but that is precisely the point for which the second 
school, or the Libertarians, contend. It is in vain that Mill 
endeavours to explain away the concession he is thus forced 
to make, by the assertion of the identity of the will to form 
one's character with the vnsh so to form it The wish, he 
would have us believe, arises, not from our organization, but 
from experience — experience either of the painful conse- 
quences of our former character, or " some strong feeling of 
admiration or aspiration accidentally aroused." In other 
words, the wish for reformation arises either from some sense 
of pain, or some accidental longing. It is either the result 
of circumstances beyond our control, or some chance medley 
of desire; both of which causes — whether the neoessary or 
the accidental one — however, would, according to his theory, 
be equally governed by his invariable sequence of events, 
and so by limiting the real operation of the will reduce the 
necessarian under the yoke of fatalism. When, moreover, 
you remember that Mill quotes with approbation the saying 
of Novalis, that "character is a completely fashioned will" 
— a will, i.e., completely fashioned by organization, education, 
and circumstance, his attempt to relieve the necessarian from 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORY. 349 

the yoke of fatalism appears still more futile. The effort to 
make desiie a means of change of character, when that desire 
itself arises from causes quite beyond our own power, thus 
proves quite ineffectual as an outlet to comparative freedom. 
The real explanation of the whole of this confusion in which 
Mill has thus involved himself, to my mind, lies in this: 
He entirely ignores the existence of the will as an indepen- 
dent and governing faculty of the soul. What he calls will 
is rather the final resultant of the desires and tendencies of 
the whole spiritual being. The mind, as he conceives it, is 
determined by the weightiest motive, or body of motives: it 
can in no sense, according to him, be said to determine itsell 
There is in it no goveraing will with a power of choice. The 
whole thing is a matter of calculation. Determine the ele- 
ments at work, and you can at once predict the line of 
conduct which will be pursued under given circumstances. 
Such is the mode of reasoning which the necessarians adopt 
with respect to individuals, or the masses, as they are pleased 
to term them, and such is the foundation of their science of 
history. Admit the power of the strongest motive, and you 
have this science. Maintain the power of independent choice 
in the will, and you deny it. Attempt to amalgamate these 
two doctrines, and you have the doctrine of the third school. 
I referred to a school of thought to which Mill sometimes 
appears to incline, while Buckle as sti*enuously and inflexibly 
maintains the doctrine of 'the first, or necessarian school 
The opinions of Buckle may be summed up in one sentence 
*— •" the variations in the actions of men {i. e., their virtuous 
and vicious actions) are the result of large and general causes, 
which, working upon the aggregate of society, mmt produce 
certain consequences, without regard to the volition of those 
particular men of whom society is composed." Let us con- 
sider how far facts bear out or contradict such a sweeping 
statement as this. Buckle's allegation, of course, rests upon 
the so-called uniformity of moral statistics. It is found, 
says he, that so many die, so many steal, so many forget to 
direct their letters, within a certain space of tima Free as 
we may feel ourselves to be, he maintcdns our will is still 
bound by a law compelling the same number of men to 
commit the same number of crimes, let us say, within a 
certain period. But what is the period alleged? Is it a 
period of such a length as to take into account the possible 
emeiging varieties of character and of circumstances which 
oettainlv require time for their development ? On the con- 
trary, the returns relied on are the yearly returns of the 

VOL. IL A A 



350 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORY. 

registrar general, where the segments of the great arc of time 
are practically so small as to afford no scope for variation. 
But again, even for those limited periods, the data which are 
assigned cannot be said to point to a law, but to indicate an 
average, and so to show the more unmistakably the nnr 
certainty and variability of the basis on which the followers 
of Buckle seek to erect their science of history. Their data 
are collected from limited cycles of duration ; they are not 
drawn from times and conditions widely remote; tiie statistics 
so supplied are not moral, but legal. Thu8» for example^ 
similar types of crimes are not grouped together, bat the 
most diversa The outward acts are reckoned up, but their 
varying moral characters are not classified and estimated. 
Under the head of murder, all manslaying is registered 
without reference to the causes which modify its character. 
So many men have been slain, and so many have killed 
them ; and this is all your statisticians care to register. The 
level passages of history are carefully mapped out; the 
rugged irregularities of revolutionary epochs are entirely 
ignored. Thus Quetelet gives the averages for the years 1826 
to 1829, though even there the differences of average are great 
(so much as 300 from year to year), and says nothing of 1830. 
And yet, if there is anything in the science of history, a period 
of popular revolution and a time of public calm should both 
be passed under review, and have their respective laws 
assigned. But the fact is, that the analogy of the physical 
sciences, as applied to the moral and social, is entirely out of 
place. The term " law," even as regards physical science, is 
calculated to mislead, if intended to represent more than the 
general regular recurrence of certain facts which have always 
been hitherto observed to happen in a certain order. 

It is quite true that the upholders of inductive science have 
endeavoured to extend the application of these general laws 
univei^ally over nature. But what is the supposition on 
which this extension rests ? Has it not been found, as has 
well been observed, that " the ground of universals and the 
basis of science is instinctive reliance in the wisdom and 
unity of the Creator?— or, as some prefer to phrase it, — "the 
constancy of the laws of nature?" The argument then in 
favour of the science of history, which is drawn from such 
a source, is altogether baseless ; for observation shows, that 
moral and social data are not as exempt from liability to 
change, as physical phenomena may, for the most part, be 
assumed to be. But again ; Mr. Buckle is of opinion that the 
intellectual element in man is the chief cause which operates 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORY. 351 

in the promotion of his progress. By the intellectaal ele- 
ment, he means the nature of his beliefs, the amount of his 
knowledge, and degree of cultivation of his intelligence. 
The chief strength of this opinion lies in the way in which 
he seeks to enforce it. He, as well as Mill, would make 
man's moral condition the consequence, to a great extent, of 
his intellectual state, Nand would hold it in all cases to be 
limited by it. In this way, the more cultivated and wise 
mankind, the more ameliorated their moral condition would 
become. And so Buckle's argument, on the one hand, 
would go to make out the ruthless persecutors of heathen 
and later Some te have been among the most moral and 
sincere of their times; while increased knowledge and 
greater intelligence have on the other hand, he thinks, 
contributed much to i^educe religious persecution and war. 
It is somewhat singular that the instance which he cites, 
in proof of the influence of knowledge in reducing the 
prevalence of war, should be the disinclination of the civil- 
ized stetes of Europe to conflict at the time of the Crimean 
war, as contrasted with the headlong ambition of the '' only 
empire Bussia, which was then at once powerful and uncivil- 
ized." " No one," he adds, " will pretend that the military 
predilections of Russia are caused by a low state of morals, 
or by a disregard of religious duties. It is," he concludes, 
** clear that Bussia is a warlike country, not because the in- 
habitants are immoral, but because they are unintellectuaL" 

Now it is a very remarkable thing that this discovery of 
Buckle's respecting Bussia is one which is quite peculiar to 
himself — as even the authorities he cites do not prove it. 
PLakerton and Sir John Sinclair may both testify to the 
kindness and charity of the Bussians, but that does not 
prove their high or average state of morality. Buckle insists 
much on the reverence of the Bussian people for their reli- 
gion, but there are others who may think such reverence as 
the Bussians display savours rather of superstition. But 
one thing is certain, the general opinion of Europe is that 
they are not particularly moral or religious. 

Let us hear Buckle further on this most striking of his 
paradoxes. I will give you extracts from a passage of his, 
which is, I believe, now pretty generally known. Let us seek 
to guage its truth or falsehoi^ "As the tide rolls on — 
there is, amid its endless fluctuations, one thing, and one alone, 
which endures for ever. The actions of bad men produce 
only temporary evil, the actions of good men only temporary 
good— eventually they are neutralized by subsequent genera- 

A A. 2 



352 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORY. 

tions, absorbed by the incessant movements of future ages. 
But the discoveries of great men never leave us, they are 
immortal, and contain those eternal truths which survive the 
shock of empires, outlive the strugglies of rival creeds^ and 
witness the decay of successive religions. All these have 
their different measures and their different standaids— one 
set of opinions for one age, another set for another. The dis- 
coveries of genius alone remain ; they are essentially cumu- 
lative, and giving birth to the additions which they subse- 
quently receive, they thus influence the most distant posterity, 
and, after the lapse of centuries, produce more effect tluui 
they were able to do even at the moment of their promulga- 
tion/* Such is the substance of Buckle's famous passage on 
the relative vitality of moral and int43llectual truths, and their 
respective influence on the progress of mankind. And yet 
all through this eloquent eulogium on knowledge, he foigeta; 
or refuses to see, that knowledge, merely as such, has not been 
of any lasting benefit to mankind. It is only in their moral 
bearing on the spiiitual being of man that " the discoveries 
of genius ** can send their influence down the ages in the 
manner which he mentions The most civilized of modem 
nations may also be the most fratricidal if mere intellectual 
cultivation be the sole guiding star, — and all the noblest dis- 
coveries in astronomy and political economy will not, if only 
replete with the siccum lumen of mere knowledge, succeed in 
raising a nation which is not also rising in moral elevation. 
And, indeed. Mill, who generally supports Buckle's views on 
this point, seems to be conscious of this; for he is found, 
within the compass of a few short sentences, fiwt giving in 
his general adhesion to Buckle's doctrine, and then accounting 
for it in the following rather inconsistent manner : — " The 
intellectual changes are so much the most conspicuous agency 
in history, not from their sfitperior farce, considered in tfiemselves, 
but because, practically, they work with the united power 
belonging to all three agencies, — viz., the moral, economi- 
cal, and intellectual." In a similar way Mill, when speaking 
of the general theory of the subjection of social progress to 
invariable laws, under another point of view, proceeds to 
show a marked divergence from the written sentiments of 
Buckle. I have already quoted Buckle's statement to the 
effect that the variation in the actions of men is the result of 
large and general causes, irrespective of the particular volitions 
of the individual men who go to make up society. Now 
what says Mill ? " Because whatever happens will be the 
effect of causes, volitions among the rest, it does not follow 



THE SCIBNCE OF HISTORY. 353 

that volitions, even those of peculiar individuals, are not of 
great eiBciency as causes." Take his own instance. Because 
a certain number of persons die every year of shipwreck, it 
would be sheer fatalism in any one in a storm at sea to con- 
clude, merely on this account, that it would be useless to try 
and save himself Why I the voluntary efforts of those who 
escape annually are the very causes why the rates of mortality 
from shipwreck are kept down at their present level And 
again, in further maintaining the compatibility of the in- 
fluence of the exertions of individual persons, with the action 
of invariable laws on human progress, he declares his belief 
in the following, as the only tenable form of the theory. 
"The volitions of exceptional persons, such as Luther or 
CfiBsar, may be indispensable links in the chain of causation by 
which even the general causes produce their efifects." Precisely 
80 ; but in that case what grounds has Buckle for maintaining 
that the action of general causes operates to include the 
efficacy of the volitions of particular persons ? Mill, thei*e- 
fore, considers the great men of any age to wield a certain 
influence in giving celerity to the movement of the age which 
takes its initiative, as he rightly holds, from their hands — and 
their hands alone. Buckle would maintain these great men 
to be inoperative. Indeed, I am not certain whether he 
would even go the length of Lord Macaulay, who in illus- 
trating the relative nullity of great men, and the absolute 
importance of their age, compares them to standers on the 
mountain-top, who can see the rising sun a little sooner than 
those on the plain — to whom the sun would still appear below 
the horizon. But what would this comparison of Macaulay's 
justly imply ? Would it not imply that the world, without a 
Newton, would have risen to the height of his glorious dis- 
covery almost, if not quite, as soon as with a Newton ? The 
contrary we all know to be the fact. Taken absolutely, 
the age of Newton was about as little prepared for his dis- 
coveries as any that preceded. It was the man who prepared 
the age for his discoveries, and not the age that bore the man 
aloft to those discoveries on its topmost wave of progress. 
What would China have been without Confucius, Moslemism 
without Mahomet^ or French Imperialism without Napoleon ? 
The progress therefore, whether of truth or of nations, is the 
fruit, not simply of internal development, but of individual 
efifort So much then we have been able to conclude, even 
from the admission of the advocates of necessary laws in the 
domain of history. But there is a still further proot which 
might be given, of the freedom of the individual will, from the 



354 THE SCIENCE OP HISTORY. 

judgments of the retrospective conscience. How can we 
reconcile the guilt or innocence of particular actions with any 
other belief than that which holds that they might have been 
done or let alone at the individual choice ? How are we else 
to account for the diminished criminalby, in some cases 
reduced to the vanishing point, of actions done under com- 
pulsion ? Were it not so, it would be hard to say why a good 
king is more worthy of our approval than a good harvest^ or 
a bad man more deserving of our censure than a pestilence. 
If our actions are to be at all regarded as the results of causa- 
tion, in the same sense as events are in the physical world, 
how can such a theory be possibly reconciled with those 
inextinguishable facts of our moral nature by which praise 
and blame, reward and condemnation, are invariably meted 
out in the case of actions, which could either have been done 
or avoided.* But if, on the other hand, the necessary laws 
be explained to mean that no event happens in history with- 
out some fitting antecedent sufficient to produce it, (and this 
is what Mill seems to hint at,) why this is a mere truism, and 
such a necessarian theory, so far from being opposed to the 

* Or, again, I might refer to the verdict of our consciousneBS. If ire «ra 
free, we ought to know it. If wo are bound, we should groan under it. W0 
know that tee are free, I/ct that be enough. Of course, when the wiU bo- 
comes fettered by evil, that results from a decision of tiie will, in the fixrt 
instance. It is to no purpose that Buckle tries to explain away this by 
making out consciousness merely to be a condition ot the mind. If he 
does not credit the concurrent impression of all the powers of the mind, 
with respect to the mind its(flf, ho can beliovo nothing. If the mind be 
not trustworthy in this decision of the full court of its faculties, it is 
not to bo relied on in the cxcjixise of any ono of them. Buckle's own 
reasonings are inferences drawn from previous acts of consciousness, or 
of the mind, of which the mind was conscious; and if the mind be not 
worthy of credit in any of its ])rocesses, Buckle's elaborate reasonings are 
nothiiis^ but so nmch paper 8i>oiled — he himself is guilty of so much drivel- 
ing folly — while his opponents, if they believe like him as to consciousness, 
have no assurance that they are any better. Tlie present note affords as 
favourable opportunity, as any in the course of this paper, for noticing an 
objection which is sometimes made to the introduction of ethical considera- 
tions into the discussion of the science of history. Why, it is said, discuBS 
the possibility of the estiblishment of a necessarj' connection of events bv 
the elimination of free will, when you cannot ascertain the existence of all 
those instances of necessary connection, even were their possibility estab- 
lished ? I am quite content to leave the reply in Froude's hands. In his 
first volume, p. 11, of '* Short Studies on Great Subjects," ho writes: *'A 
science of history, if it is more than a misleading name, implies that the 
relation between cause and effect holds in human beings as completely as 
in all others, that the origin of human actions is not to be looked for in 
mysterious properties of the mind, but in influences which are palpable and 
ponderable. ... If it is free to a man to choose what he will ao or not do, 
there is no adequate^ science of him. If there is a science of him, there is 
no free choice, and the praise and blame with which we regartl one another 
is impertinent and out of place. Without trespassing on these ethical 
grounds," adds Froude, "the subject cannot be made intelligible.'* 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORY. 855 

free will hypothesis, is, iu fact, its fittest supplement. Hence, 
I believe in the existence of a third or intermediate school, 
to which I think Mill makes some approaches, but which I 
think might be more sharply defined by a more logical 
development than he has given of his views in that direc- 
tion. But after all, what is the verdict which history herself 
gives in her own cause ? Have we anywhere evidence of the 
events of history unfoldiug themselves in an inevitable series 
— unalterable by the resolves of individual wills, or the de- 
flexions of supernatural interference? There are of course 
persons now-a-days who, when they see links in the chain of 
history for which they cannot account from any discovered 
so-called law of the general order of events, are accustomed 
to resort to any explanation, however lame, to avoid the 
admission of the interposition of the supernatural ; but the 
attempt is fruitless, and only covers the authors of it with 
confusion. In the same way the denials of the efficacy of 
individual human agency fall to the ground through their in- 
trinsic incredibility. The innate beliefs of the human con- 
stitution assert their native sway, and the sceptic, save as 
r^ards the powers of the race in general, is compelled to 
acknowledge them at last as respects himself. 

Nor can the results of such enlarged views of history, as 
continued inquiry is daily bringing to lights be without their 
efiect on the progress of history itself, whether as regards the 
occurrence of the facts which history records, or the manner 
of their record in future historical works. The science of 
history, in the sense of a science which will make out such 
an inter-dependence of the facts of history as would show 
their course to be as distinctly traceable as the steps in a 
mathematical problem, such a science is being made to appear 
manifestly impossible. But a philosophy of history there as 
manifestly may be. The past phenomena of history cannot 
of course reappear precisely in their primitive order. But 
the study of the connections of events, and their order of 
sequence, can never be devoid of profit and instruction. We 
cannot predict the events of the future in the moral and 
social world with anything like the same certainty with 
which we can foretell the places of the planets or the so-called 
fixed stars a thousand years hence, or a million. But we can 
fill our memories with old historical combinations, and from 
these our judgments, when assured of as full knowledge as 
is attainable of all the circumstances, may venture to come 
to some trustworthy conclusion as to the course which similar 
contingencies are likely to take. It is on these previsions 



356 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORY. 

that all genuine sociology, all credible political vdsdom, are 
founded Those who expect from history those lessons which 
true scientific inquiry can give, and not those which only 
scientific quackery can promise, will surely not be dis- 
appointed. History, with such honest-minded men as these 
for its actors, may enter on a new and much accelerated 
course. The greater number of large and liberal-minded 
men there are in any age, the greater probability there is of 
that age being of the number of those which far distance 
the ages which preceded. There will always be the original, 
powerful mind, which will not only guide but make its age. 
But such minds are necessarily few. They are something 
more than the foremost exponents of their age, — they are, I 
believe, the direct gift of heaven. Just as when a new set, if 
I may so say, requires to be given to the laws of nature, the 
direct impulse of the supreme will, which is the source of 
all law, becomes once more evident, just so is it when the 
necQSsity for an extraordinary work in history involves the 
necessity for the rise of an extraordinary worker. When the 
hour has struck, then comes the man, with this difference, 
that to the common ear, had the man not made his appear- 
ance too, the hour would never seem to have struck at alL 
So must the supreme will be interpreted to mankind by 
earthly units of the species. And hence all the errors on this 
point to which I have adverted. Mankind, when they see 
the work being done, which they all acknowledge to be so 
necessary, believe that the hour has struck upon the clock of 
their own race — that, in short, it is the race which produces 
the exceptional man, and not the man in fine who is sent 
exceptionally to elevate the race. No. The truth is, it is 
the man who reveals the exceptional emergency, and who 
speaks, not merely as the exponent of an internal develop- 
ment, but as the embodiment of an external will. And let no 
one think that by thus exalting the supreme will, which is 
the source of all law, we are detracting from the importance 
of law itself The so-called entity of law becomes a far 
sublimer thing when regarded as the final expression upon 
earth of the dispositions of a supreme will, than when looked 
at as the unalterable decree of a blank and unsympathetic 
necessity. On the one theory, all hangs on the almighty fiat 
of a living person ; on the other, all is inextricably shut up 
in the inevitable labyrinth of an immoveable system. The 
human mind instinctively shrinks from the bondage of its 
own imperfect generalisations ; and the teachings of instinct 
and of truth are here happily at one. Let us try never to 
forget their instructions ! 



THE 

EVIDENCES OF GLACIAL ACTION IN SOUTH DEVON. 

BY S. VIVIAN. 



The harmony of literary and scientific evidence, and especially 
the reduction of geological into astronomical time, is one of 
the most urgent and interesting problems which yet remain 
to be solved. The high antiquity of the earth and man is 
now admitted almost as universally as the revolution of the 
earth around the sun, or its rotation on its axis; and the 
chronology of Usher has become as much out of date as the 
Ptolemaic astronomy. 

The solution will most probably be found by comparing 
the corresponding phenomena in astronomiced and geological 
science, and amongst these the most promising are the alter- 
nations of climate known as the glacial periods. 

An admirable summary of all that was known upon this 
subject up to our last anniversary will be found in Sir Charles 
Lyell's Principles of Geology, vol. i. tenth edition. The only 
treatises of later date to which I shall refer are Crolls 
Essay in the London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Fhilosophical 
Magazine, as bearing upon the astronomical branch of the 
question, and Mr. N. Whitley s paper in the last Report of 
the Boyal Agricultural Society, on the changes of climate 
effected by the gulf stream and physical geography. 

The evidences to which I would specially call attention 
are — 1. A section of the Devonian slate near Torquay, with 
the deposits in the Torwood valley ; and, 2. The condition of 
the stfidagmitic floor and successive fillings in Kent's Cavern. 

The Torwood valley, now occupied by the Torquay Public 
Gkrdens, with the Braddons and Woodfield on either side, 
has evidently been cut by the long-continued action of a 
small stream (now conveyed through the sewer), derived 
from the limited area of the Lincombes and Warberry Hill. 
The strata on both the northern and the southern slopes are 
nearly perpendicular, with a slight northern dip. The bottom 
of the valley is tilled with loam to the depth of from three 
to ten feet, beneath which is a bed of peat similar to that 
at Tor Abbey and the submerged forest in Torbay. On the 



358 EVIDENCES OF GLACIAL ACTION IN SOUTH DEVON. 

northern side a deep excavation for buildings has laid open 
the flat surface of the slate, the cleavage of which appears to 
be nearly coincident with its stratificatioiL On the summit 
the laminae are curved over to the uniform depth of about 
six feet^ in the line of least resistance, and have assumed at 
their extremities the slope of the hill, as if by the action of 
some expansive substance between their planes. This has 
been assigned by Mr. Godwin- Austen and other writers to 
the action of ice during the last glacial period. If so, the 
valley must have assumed its present configuration before 
that date, a point of much importance a^afiecting the level 
of the stream which once flowed through Kent's Cavern. The 
bulk of the loam might have been deposited above the peat 
by the action of the melting snows, the peat itself being pos- 
sibly pre-glaciaL 

The nature and condition of the deposits in Kent's Cavern 
appear to lead to the same conclusions. On the surface is a 
black mould containing relics of human art, from the present 
day through the Roman and pre-Roman periods to a date 
which corresponds to the earliest state of civilization in the 
pre-historic Swiss lake dwellings — spindle- whorls, bone 
combs, amber beads, &c., with lumps of native copper being 
common to both. Beneath this is an unbroken floor of 
stalagmite, varying from a few inches to three feet in thick- 
ness, containing, at about a third of its depth, teeth and bones 
of the extinct mammalia, and beneath these a human jaw. 
This floor overlies a mass of red loam, containing similar 
animal remains, with flint implements of the Palaeolithic 
period, and, intermixed with these, massive fragments of more 
ancient stalagmite, containing bones of the cave bear. The 
floor from which these were derived is found in situ in one 
of the small galleries, at a higher level than the new floor 
which has since been formed below it. In other more remote 
parts of the cavern the old stalagmite is m situ below the 
new, with red loam intervening. Now, it appears certain that 
the loam was introduced, or at least moved, by the action of 
flood water subsequently to the disruption of the ancient 
floor. I would suggest that this occurred on the breaking up 
of the last glacial period, when the valley, now at the depth 
of about sixty feet below the cavern s mouth, was filled 
with a glacier or compact snow, the water being derived 
from the bursting of debacles or ice lakes, and heavy rains at 
higher levels. 

If these interpretations are correct, we have evidence of 



BVIDENCES OP GLACIAL ACTION IN SOUTH DEVON. 359 

frost to the depth of about six feet over the whole surface of 
the district; and it is quite consistent with this that the floor 
of the cavern should have been fissured or broken up by the 
congelation of the loam beneath it, and that, being subse- 
quently undermined, and fractured by masses of rock from 
the roof, it fell, and became entombed in scattered fragments, 
as we found it. 

Sir Charles Lyell considers it probable that the valleys had 
not been formed below the level of the cavern's mouth when 
the bones of extinct animals and implements of man were 
introduced. Even the submerged forest of Torbay, he says, 
"may belong to the close of the Palaeolithic era, although 
long subsequent to the filling of the caves of Brixham and 
Kent's Hole, near Torquay, when the elephant, rhinoceros, 
and cave bear co-existed with man before the excavation of 
some of the valleys which now descend to the sea on that 
coast." (Principles, i. p. 544.) This would make man pre- 
glacial ; but as there appears to be no sufficient evidence of 
this from other sources, I would submit, as the more probable 
interpretation, that the valley was already formed, but filled 
with a glacier which, from its limited extent and the angular 
chahuiter of the valleys, was stationary, and left no traces. 
The usual striae and moraines are found as near as Snowdon ; 
but even on Dartmoor the gorges are not sufficient to have 
had glaciers in motion. 

According to this theory the cavern bear would have been 
pre-glacial, his remains being found in a compact bone 
breccia at the base of the ancient stalagmite, and imbedded 
in its substance. He was also in the caverns after the dis- 
ruption of the floor, teeth and bones being found abundantly 
in the loam, together with those of the hyena and the animals 
upon which it preyed, and relics of man in the PalsBolithic 
period, which would thus be post-glacial. If CroU's astro- 
nomical calculations are correct, the latest glacial period was 
at its height about B.C. 200,000. 

This chronology is quite consistent with the present rate 
of formation of the stalagmite. Forty years have scarcely 
left a trace upon Mr. McEnery's excavations. In one hun- 
dred and eighty years a slight film has formed over an in- 
scription A.D. 1688 ; and no relic marking the Soman period 
has been incrusted to the depth of more than a quarter of an 
inch. So that, assuming one-tenth of an inch as the rate of 
deposit during each 1(X)0 years, it would reauire 150,000 
years to form the last floor of stalagmite. Tliis would be 



360 EVIDENCES OF GLACIAL ACTION IN SOUTH DEVON. 

about the astronomical date of the passing away of the snows 
on the Torquay Alps, and the return of the regular drip of 
water from the roof containing carbonate of lime, the result 
of returning vegetation. 

If it be asked why, if dependent upon astronomical causes, 
glacial phenomena do not present themselves at regularly 
recurring intervals throughout the whole of the geological 
record, it may be replied that the successive conditions of 
physical geography sometimes increase and sometimes 
neutralize the variations of solar influence. Sir Charles Lyell 
considers that alterations in the distribution of land and 
water, and the currents thus occasioned, would alone have 
been sufficient to account for all the changes of climate. 
Our present gulf stream is an illustration of this. Mr. 
Whitley states that the temperature of the western coast of 
this country is raised 27 degrees by the heated water from 
the Gulph of Mexico, and that if instead of thb we had the 
Arctic current upon our shores, we should have a climate 
proportionately reduced, giving a total variation of 54 d^rees 
from this single cause. 

The most clearly marked glacial period preceding that to 
which I have referred is at the close of the Miocene era, 
about RC. 1,000,000. On Bovey Heathfield, Mr. Pengelly 
and Professor Heer have recognized the Betuia nana and 
other Arctic forms of vegetation in the gravel overlying the 
lignite beds which contain the Sequoia Couttni, a species 
nearly allied to the Wellingtonia gigantea, now only found 
on the Pacific shores of South America Boulders transported 
by icebergs are found in this county of still more remote 
dates. In Croyle Bay, North Devon, a mass of granite is 
imbedded at the base of the cliff; material from Dartmoor is 
observed in districts to which no existing agency could have 
transported it ; and even in Kent's Cavern partially rounded 
granite pebbles have been found which must have been 
derived from the same source. 

In accepting the new chronolgy and the high antiquity of 
the human race, I may add that there need be no conflict 
with historic dates. The scriptural record, as originally in- 
terpreted in The Genesis of the Earth and Man, edited by Mr. 
Stuart Poole of the British Museum, seems distinctly to 
recognize the existence of earlier races of man, as well as of 
other animals, long prior to the last centre of creation in the 
valley of the Euphrates, from which the religious history of 
the world commences, and with it our modern civilization, 
the cereal crops, and most of the domesticated animals. 



ON VAGRANCY. 

BY E. VIVIAN, J. P. 



It is estimated that more than two-thirds of the criminal 
population of this country fall under the head of vagrants, 
amounting, by the latest reports, to nearly 100,000 per- 
sons.* This is also the class from which other criminals 
are recruited ; and the habits of the wandering mendicant 
afford a shelter and a plea to those who are bent upon the 
commission of greater crimes. 

A Vagrant Act is the logical supplement to a Poor Law, 
and it is only on this ground that it can be justly enforced, 
almsgiving being recognized both by divine and human law 
as a virtue, and its recipients consequently not guilty of a 
crime. 

The first point which claims attention is, whether the State 
provision adequately meets all the requirements. By the law 
of Elizabeth, employment or maintenance was secured to the 
entire population. By the Poor Law Amendment Act, the 
option was given of providing this in the Union Workhouse. 
Is either provision righteously carried out ? I fear that recent 
investigations throw some doubt upon this, especially in the 
metropolis and populous towns. Out-door relief is frequently 
insufficient without private alms, and this is too often made 
the ground of a reduction, thus sanctioning the very evil 
which it is the object of a poor law to repress. In-door relief 
is also very defective, especially for the sick and aged. 

Whether this impression be correct or not, it is very 
generally accepted by the humane public; and until it is 
removed it will be in vain, indeed it would be wrong, to har- 
den their heart against the vagrant Many amongst all classes, 
especially the poor themselves, prefer to give to nine un- 
deserving applicants rather than incur the responsibility of 

* According to the Home Office retuniB, 1S66, there were 118,560 known 
criminala at large, of whom 16,000 were in London. In Exeter the pro- 
portion was 1 in every 93 of the population ; Bath, 1 in 79. 



362 ON VAGRANCY. 

rejecting one true case of destitution. It is only when full 
confidence prevails in the administration of the Poor Law 
that any of us could say with Archbishop Whately, " I thank 
God I have never given to a beggar." I saw an instructive 
illustration of this at Newton a few weeks since. None of 
the guardians who had just passed resolutions against 
vagrancy, and defended the rigour of our prison discipline — 
plank beds and the treadmill — ^had the nei-ve to lay an infor- 
mation against a woman whom we met dragging about three 
wretched children ; and a philosophical friend, now present, 
not long since gave his pence to a mendicant to whom I had 
been preaching a homily against vagrancy. The first point 
therefore to be attended to is to reform this defective adminis- 
tration of the Poor Law. I am quite aware of the difiBculty, 
but hope that much has already been effected, as the result 
of the recent exposures, by opening Casual Wards, and 
especially by appointing the sergeants of the county police 
to administer relief to vagrants.* Pauperism which is not the 
result of misconduct should never be regarded as a crime ; 
the Sick Ward should be a liberally-conducted hospital; and 
the old people's apartments almshouses. Age and sickness 
are a branch of pauperism which no indulgence will increase, 
and may be treated with a liberal discretion. I am happy to 
add that this is invariably practised in the Newton Abbot 
Union, and doubtless many others in this county. True 
Christian charity, which "seeketh not its own," would gladly 
forego the luxury of private almsgiving if the welfare of the 
recipient were promoted, and there is no better field for the 
exercise of benevolence than the administration of the great 
national charity in the office of poor law guardian. 

The only real and efficient remedy would be that which on 
a former occasion I urged before this association as applicable 
to our prison discipline for all classes of offenders — the sub- 
stitution of industrial and reformatory occupation for mere 
confinement and punishment. Not only would this by its 
beneficial influence diminish the number of the vagrant 
class, but it would give an assurance to the benevolent, that 
in refusing relief or even in assisting to enforce the law, they 

♦ Since the adoption of this system in the Newton Abbot Union, at Mid- 
Bummer, 1864, the relief of vagrants has been aa follows: — 



1863 .... 


Indoor. 
& $. d. 

3 12 6 

3 4 11 .... 


Outdoor. 

£ $. d. 

33 5 5 .... 


Total. 
ltd. 

36 17 11 


1B64 


33 19 9 


37 4 8 


1865 


.... 2 4 .... 


16 16 11 .... 


18 17 8 


1866 


8 6 9 

3 8 6 


10 4 11 


... 13 11 8 


1867 .... 


11 11 7 


15 I 


1868 .... 


3 10 


18 16 6 


17 6 8 



ON VAGBANCT. 363 

vrere coDferring a greater benefit even upon the objects of 
their compassion than by enabling them to continue their 
present reckless course of life. 

A system has been proposed for the relief of bond fide 
industrious persons in search of work, under which they 
would be entitled to receive lodging, without compulsory 
labour, at any Union House, and be furnished with a ticket 
authorizing them to beg for food on the road, the distance to 
be travelled each day being proportioned to their ability. 
This is objectionable on economical grounds as a waste of 
labour, and it would also encourage vagrant habits. A 
systematic publication of the rate of wages in different 
districts, and an advance of tlie fare by Parliamentary train 
firom the rates, would be far preferable. 

One of the principal attractions to vagrancy is, that it 
affords the means of gratifying depraved habits. The work- 
house is a teetotal establishment, almost as unpalatable as a 
jaiL Could not therefore some check be imposed upon the 
public-houses and beershops — the tramp's club ? If " to be 
drunk on the premises" were prohibited, few vagrants would 
frequent the tramp's lodging-house. 

A committee has recently been appointed by the board of 
guardians of the Newton Abbot Union, of which I have been 
an elective or ex-officio member since the passing of the new 
Poor Law, to investigate the causes of the great prevalence 
of vagrancy, and the best means for suppressing it; and I 
am very desirous of hearing the subject fully discuissed by 
members of this association. 



ON PREDICTIVE METEOROLOGY. 

BY WBNTWORTH W. BULLKR. 



N 



I HAVE chosen the subject of meteorology on this occcasioii, 
thinking it a somewhat neglected part of science in which I 
was not likely to clash with other communications which 
might be read here. Considering that the changes of the 
weather are constantly influencing the daily life of all people, 
especially of those who live in the country, it seems som^ 
what strange that so little serious attention is given to ascer- 
taining the causes which bring about those changes, and that 
so little progress has been nmde in framing any theories or 
rules to enable us to predict those changes. 

Probably the circumstances which have prevented progress 
in this direction are, firstly, that we happen to live in one of 
the most variable climates in the world, which causes the 
investigation to be so difficult that failures have discouraged 
first attempts; secondly, the changes of the weather in 
England, and even in Europe, are very local, which makes it 
difficult to lay down general rules ; and that local observers 
with no pretensions to science are apparently more successful 
than the scientific man who attempts to trace the causes of 
weather changes to ultimate sources. 

And this may be the excuse for the fact which must be 
confessed, that we might find some old farmers with acute 
powers of general observation who, for all practical purposes, 
are better meteorologists than any scientific man. As the 
changes of the weather directly affect the interests of farmers, 
their attention is constantly directed to them, and, by the 
study of local appearances, they attain some success in fore- 
telling immediate changes in the district in which they live. 

The scientific meteorologist has attempted to form theories 
and deduce rules applicable to a wide extent of country, and 
has been baffled by local causes interfering with the applica- 
tion of his theories. 

I think these are the main reasons why meteorologists 



ON PBEDICTIVE METEOBOLOGY. 365 

who have attempted to predict weather have been somewhat 
notoriously unsuccessful; in feet, until lately they have 
almost laid themselves open to the same imputation as has 
been cast on metaphysicians ; that taunt which is so severe 
because it is so nearly true, that "metaphysicians have talked 
for 2000 years, and have proved nothing." Meteorologists 
have not talked quite so much, nor quite so long ; but when 
we consider that they had the advantage over metaphysicians 
of dealing with material phenomena, it seems almost more 
di^racef^ that they should have proved so little. 

Since meteorology has professed to be a science, people 
have looked for some benefit from it, and the first desire that 
arises in most minds is, that it should be practically applied 
to predicting changes of weather. In this department of 
meteorology no investigation worthy to be considered scien- 
tific was ever attempted till within the last fifteen years. 
I think, however, some progress has now been made in pre- 
dicting weather, and it is to discoveries in this, which I call 
Predictive Meteorology, that I wish to direct your attention. 

The investigation I have attempted further resolves itself 
into two parts. Firstly, As to the nature of the efiFect of the 
moon on the weather. Secondly, As to how far the character 
of the weather in one part of the year enables us to predict 
the character of the weather which will follow. 

It is first necessary for my purpose that I should briefly 
describe the general physical condition of the earth in 
reference to its atmosphere round it. 

The solid mass of the earth is mostly covered with fluid, 
the sea extending over the greater part of the globe. The 
whole globe — sea and land — is further surrounded by an 
atmosphere of air and vapour. This atmosphere should also 
be looked upon as a fluid covering. I wish to consider the 
solid globe, then, as mostly covered by two envelopes of 
fluid, that is, partly by the denser fluid, water, and entirely 
by the lighter fluid, air and vapour. 

Placed as man is with the power of moving over the sea, 
the motions of that denser fluid are apparent to him We 
are tolerably acquainted with its waves, its tides, its currents, 
and the causes of them. The motions of the lighter fluid, 
the atmosphere, are not so easily investigated; they seem 
more variable, and not readily to be traced to any constant 
forces, and comparatively little is known about them. 

But looking at the matter in this way, looking at the earth 
as covered by two envelopes of fluids, it seems probable that 
these two fluids placed in such a similar position in reference 

VOL. IL B B 



366 OK PBSDionvi mbibobologt. 

to the great forces of xiatore acting on them will be found to 
be subject to similar laws and similar motiona Their posi- 
tion is similar as regards the force of gravity, the attiaotion 
of the sun, the ear^ and the moon, centrifugal force, and 
the action of the sun's heat 

And such is, in fieu^t, found to be the case: Uie sea has its 
waves, its tides, its currents, and storms, and so has the 
atmosphere above us. We cannot see the waves of the 
atmosphere, but our barometers tell us when these w^avea 
pass over us. Great waves, forty miles wide, are sometimes 
observed by means of the movements of barometers at a 
series of stations. Atmospheric tides are also by similv 
means known to exist The fluid atmosphere, like the fluid 
sea, is mostly afiected by tide movements on its outer sni&oe. 
As the atmosphere is now known to be about lortyifitEe miles 
thick, it would not be exnected that these tides would be 
very apparent .to us, placeol as we are in the lower part of 
these forty-five miles. But observations of the barometeir 
allow us to detect diurnal and monthly movements in the 
upper part of the atmosphere just as regular as the tides of 
the sea, and referable to similar causes. The currents of the 
atmosphere are obvious to us all in winds and storms. 

So far the parallel holds good between these two envelopes 
of fluid — the fluid sea, and the fluid atmosphere. I believa 
the forces of attraction act in a precisely similar way on the 
envelope of water and the envelope of air, and produce like 
effects. But when we come to consider the effect of the 
sun's heat, we find that mighty force acting in a very different 
way on the water to what it does on the atmosphere. 

I must avoid touching on the theory of radiant heat as 
causing too long a digression, and must assume the fietct that 
from the nature of the atmosphere the rays of the sun pass 
through it, and reach the surface of the earth or sea with 
little or no loss of heat, unless clouds inter\''ena 

When, however, they strike the sea, they do not pass 
through into its depths, but the heat is almost entirely 
absorbed on its surface. This heat is mainly expended in 
turning the wator into vapour which rises into the atmos- 
phere. 

When the rays of heat passing through the atmosphere 
strike the earth, they heat its surface. The heated earth 
again gives upi;he heat to tlie air above it The air could 
not from its nature receive the heat from the rays passing 
through it, but is able to receive the same heat from contact 
with the earth. 



ON PREDICTIVE METEOEOLOOY. 367 

Thus the upper portion of the sea is warmed by the same 
heat which warms the lower portion of the atmosphere. 

The larger proportion of the sun's heat falls on the tropical 
zona It warms the waters of the tropical seas, and loads 
the atmosphere with warm vapour. By ocean currents and 
wind currents that warm water and warm vapour is dis- 
tributed into countries away from the tropics, which would 
not receive enough direct heat from tlie sun to make them 
habitable. 

The atmosphere seems marvellously arranged for receiving 
and retaining on the earth's surface wliere man lives the 
heat of the sun. By means of the different properties of 
water and air, the area of the globe suited for the life of 
man is extended. The tropics, placed under the vertical 
rays of the sun, have their heat tempered by immense 
evaporation and cool currents of air from more temperate 
regions, whilst counter currents, both of air and water, carry 
Awmf the heat of the tropics towards the poles. 

The heat of the sun acting on the tropical zone must be 
looked upon as the chief cause of the great movements of 
the atmosphere over the whole earth's surface. 

In the tropics meteorological phenomena are comparatively 
simple, and easy to be traced to their causes. Bainy seasons 
and dry seasons follow each other with regularity, and year 
after year these changes occur at the same periods. 

The tropics having no summer and winter, the sun's heat 
remains a more constant force. But further from the equator 
a variety of forces come into operation, affecting these move- 
ments of the atmosphere, and in latitudes like this they 
seem almost to defy explanation. 

The laws of the propagation of motion in fluids, and espe- 
cially in elastic fluids like the air, is one of the most abstruse 
parts of dynamical science. The forces, first acting at the 
equator before they reach these latitudes, seem complicated 
by innumerable considerations of latent heat carried by 
vapour and currents ; by expansion of the atmosphere during 
the day, and contraction during the night ; by evaporation of 
moisture in some parts, and its precipitation in others ; by the 
permanent difierence of equatorial and polar regions. 

As if the problem was not thus made sufficiently complex, 
the occupation of unequal parts of the surface of the globe 
by sea and land, the irregular form of continents, the flow 
of great ocean currents, the existence of mountain chains 
obstructing and dividing air currents, all make meteorology 

B B 2 



368 OK PBEDICnVE MSrEOBOJU)OT. 

in these latitudes one of the most complex studies with 
which an observer in nature can have to deal. 

Can, then, any rules be evolved out of this confusioD to 
enable us to predict weather in these latitudes ? . 

I believe the keeping of careful meteorological rggifltew 
has enabled observers to find a rule which, at all events in 
some seasons, enables them to predict the general ghwactor 
of the weather some months beforehand. . ' .. 

I believe also that a study of the tides of the Btmwp^fon 
enables us to predict with some probability the imwftrtiirtft 
changes of the wind. 

The discoveries on this point enable iU9 to aay Hba^ cer^fiiB 
winds prevail according to the position of the nuxwu . . r 

Mr. Glaisher has lately gone through the daily TOgisten 
of wind for more than fifty years, for the puroose o£ aaoer- 
taining the prevalence of particular winds at diffiproat times 
of the moon. I have also examined registers kept in Devon 
over a shorter period. The results I am about to jzive ^9 
mainly Mr. Glaisher^& I have altered them slighfly. mm my 
own observations, believing that the changes of the wind i^ 
Greenwich are not precisely the same as in Devcmahiia 

N.N.E. winds have no very marked period, but from a 
long series of observations, they seem to prevail just before 
or just after the new moon. 

E.N.E. winds come after a new moon. 

E.S.E. winds generally occur on the 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 
23rd days after new moon. 

S.E. winds never occur at new moon, and are most frequent 
on the 17th day after new moon. It is a great thing to 
get a definite fact in laws governing the wind, and I am able 
to say that in the registers I have examined not a single case 
of a S.E. wind occurs within twenty hours before or after 
during the last forty years. 

S.S.E. wind very seldom occurs at new moon. I found 
only two instances in forty years. S.S.E. wind generally 
comes on the 22nd and 23rd days of the moon's age. 

S. winds have no defined period ; but if a S. wind sets in 
at full moon, it lasts but a short time ; if at a new moon, it 
will probably last two or three days or longer. 

I expected at first to find that the converse of these rules 
would bold good ; but such is not generally the case. But it 
is the case with N. and S. winds. 

Thus, if N. wind sets in at full moon, it lasts longer; but 
if at new moon, but a short time. 



ON PREDICTIVE METEOROLOGY. 369 

S.S.W. is short at full moon, and continues longer at other 
times. 

W.S.W. winds may set in at almost any time, but continue 
longer if they commence a few days previous to the new 
moon. 

For the West wind I have found no certain rule. W.KW. 
and N.W. winds may occur at any time, but seldom follow 
E. or N.E. 

I have no doubt many rules might be found in reference to 
wind from one quarter following another, and it would be 
desirable to get average results from a still longer period than 
that from which Mr. Glaisher has taken his averages. Mr. 
Glaisher does not attempt to account for the prevalence of 
these winds according M^ith the position of the moon. I 
venture to propose an explanation. I have already said that 
it is certain that tides exist in the upper portion of the 
atmosphere, caused by the attraction of the sun and moon, 
like the tides of the sea. Heat, however, is so powerful a 
distnrbing force in the atmosphere, tliat currents and storms 
in the lower portion of the atmosphere often overcome these 
tidal movements. 

Still, these tidal movements remain a constant force, 
although not a very powerful one ; but in the long run it is 
probable that the winds of the lower pail; of the atmosphere 
have a general tendency to follow these tides. Take the 
instance of S. and N. winds. I have said that if S. wind 
sets in at full moon, it will only last a short time ; but N. 
wind at same period will last a long time. 

I imagine that this shows that the tidal current of the 
tipper atmosphere at full moon is from N. to S. If a wind 
sets in against this, it lasts but a short time ; but if it is in 
unison with it, it lasts longer. 

I suppose I need hardly say that rain is the result of air 
charged with vapour meeting or mixing with colder currents 
of air. The most casual observer connects rain with par- 
ticular winds ; and if we are able to predict changes of wind, 
it is a fair advance towards predicting rain. The rules I 
have laid down are by no means infallible, but I believe 
they will be found true in a large proportion of instances. 

This is all I have to record in reference to the predicting 
of immediate changes of the weather ; but there have lately 
been discoveries to enable us to predict some months before- 
hand the general character of the ensuing weather. For 
these observations I am mostly indebted to Mr. G. Bramham, 
and various communications of his to the Meteorological 



370 ON ntEDicnvE inrrsoBOiiOGT. 

Society. By the study of registeTS kept over many veon it 
is observed that extremes of neat and cold are gencmJly pte- 
ceded by several months of uniform temperatnreL This 
sometimes enables observers at or a little aft^ the eoainoxes 
to predict with considerable certainty the general chaiacter 
of the ensuing summer and winter. 

Thus I believe in this present year that the very tmSffeim 
temperature which we had from the middle of Jaxnuo^ to 
March 6th was the precursor of the long continuanoe iolf 
dry weather with high temperatiires that we have laiify 
experienced. 

The rules enunciated by Mr. Bramham are as follows :^^ 
^When the mean temperatures of the first thito monSbk' 
have been so nearly uniform that the range of montibly nleail 
temperature in the first quarter of the year has been only 
1*2^ or less, the succeeding summer will be chamcteriied l^ 
extreme heat 

^When the mean temperature of all the months, frdtt 
November to March, are above the average, the enstdtjg 
summer will also be above the averaga 

''When the mean temperature of June is below May; or 
if there is no progressive increase of temperature in June^ a 
cold and rainy July and August may be expected. 

" When the mean temperature of December is more thuk 
T above November, January, February, and March will 
have a temperature above the average, and January and 
February will be wet and rainy." 

I have spoken of mean temperatures, that being the best 
form of registering observations for the purpose of these pre- 
dictions. A uniform mean temperature may be looked upon 
as identical with settled and calm weather with little air 
disturbance. These rules have been discovered entirely from 
a comparison of the registers of passed years, not from the 
study of the complex physical forces causing the changes of 
weather. I will, however, attempt some explanation of them. 

Immediately after our shortest day, of course, the sun 
begins to approach our northern hemisphere. If at that 
time up to about the period of the equinox (the sun being 
advancing towards us then) there is a uniform mean tempera- 
ture, which accompanies calm settled weather, then there will 
also be very little intenningling of air currents, and conse- 
quently a great accumulation of heat about the northern 
boundary of the tropic. This accumulation of heat is after- 
wards sure to affect the temperature of the ensuing summer. 

On the same principle, when after our longest day there is 



ON PREDICnVB METEOKOLOGY. 371 

calm, settled weather during July, August, and September, 
when the sun is receding from us, there will be a great 
accumulation of cold in the northern hemisphere, which wUl 
make the ensuing winter unusually cold. 

Our ideas of the extent of the atmosphere have of late 
years been much enlarged, and there seems no doubt that 
it extends some forty-five miles above us. It is, therefore, 
conceivable that vast accumulation of hot or cold air should 
occur which have this subsequent effect on the temperature. 

It may be remarked that these rules are somewhat incom- 
plete. In fact, they amount only to this — that if at certain 
times of the year weather of a certain character prevails, 
then we are enabled to predict the character of the weather 
of the ensuing months. 

Still, I thii& the discoveries already made are a step in 
the right direction, and I wish to suggest to observers that 
the careful registering of maximum and minimum tempera- 
tures is the best means of getting data to enable them to 
predict weather. 

In the state of our present knowledge of the subject, 
many years might occur in which the weather might give us 
no opportunity of making these predictions ; but I believe 
extremely hot summers and extremely cold winters are 
al.ways preceded by weather which will enable us to predict 
those events. 



ON 



HILL FORTRESSES, SLING - STONES, AND OTHER 
ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN DEVON. 



BT PBTBR ORLA9DO HUTCHIVaOir. 



Im the summer of 1861 the Archaeolc^cal Assooialion of 
London visited Exeter, and on the 22nd of August in that 
year I read before them a paper on "The Hill Fortresses^ 
Tumuli, and some other Antiquities of Eastern Devon." Since 
that time I have had the opportunity of looking up and 
examining several other objects of interest scattered over this 
portion of the county, not noticed in my former paper, and it 
is to these that I wish now to call your attention. 

DuMPDON.— The first place to which I will advert is the 
great camp of Dumpdon. It will do well to begin with, as it 
Ues only two miles and a half northward from the town in 
which we are assembled. I am not aware that any plan of 
this camp has been published. In figure and size it very 
much resembles Hembury Fort, though not quite so long it is 
a little broader. The form of the hill on which it stands is 
very like that of Hembury, being a sort of promontory with 
the point tending to the south. The north end in both is 
defended by bold earthworks cut right across the ridge of the 
hilL This is the broadest part of each camp, and from which 
they gradually contract to a rounded point. About one-third of 
the pointed end of Dumpdon is planted with beech trees, the 
space being shut in by a modem hedge run transversely across 
the area. Near the middle of the camp, namely, at 450 feet 
from the south point, and 128 from the west agger, is a 
mound which might be taken for a tumulus, but I understand 
it was thrown up a few years ago by the officers of the Ord- 
nance Survey, as an object to assist them in the triangulation 
of the country, similar ones having been erected on several of 
the neighbouring hills. Across this mound the width of the 
caiiip is 361 feet ; the whole length of the area is 825 feet ; 
the elevation of the hill is 879 feet above the sea level. The 













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ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN DEVON. 373 

circumvallatioQ consists of two aggers with a ditch between 
them, like Sidbury Castle, the sides of the hill being very 
steep. At the north end the ground is level as at Hembury, 
and here there are two aggers and two ditches ; from the top 
of the first to the top of the second, across the intervening 
ditch, the measurement is 86 feet. At the north-east corner, 
or, to be more exact, at 108 feet south of that point, is the 
original entrance. I wish to direct your notice to this en- 
trance, because it is different in principle from any that we 
find in the other hill fortresses hereabout. In most cases the 
entrance is little else than a gap left in the surrounding 
earthworks, which of course bespeaks great rudeness of con- 
struction. Here, however, we see that the agger is inflected, 
and carried nearly 100 feet back into the body of the camp, 
so as to form a sort of passage or avenue, up which an enemy 
could not venture without being exposed to the spears or 
other missiles of the defenders on either hand inside. We 
here discover some advance over the simple entries before 
alluded to, and perhaps a first trace in the science of fortifi- 
cation ; and this may perhaps indicate that this hill fortress, 
or at all events this entrance, may not be so ancient as some 
of the others. I have failed to satisfy myself as to the 
derivation of the word Durapdon. 

WiDWORTHY Camp. — Some three or four miles eastward 
from Honiton, on Widworthy Hill, nearly a mile south of the 
church of that place, are the remains of a circular camp. 
Some writers have just alluded to it, and have spoken of it as 
destroyed ; but this is not the case, for it still exists in the 
middle of a plantation. On walking over it I found it to 
measure 90 paces north and south, and 92 at right angles to 
this direction : allowing two feet six inches to a step, it is an 
oval approaching to a circle whose diameters are 225 by 230 
feet. 

Castle Wood. — A few hundred yards in a westerly di- 
rection from Widworthy church, on a small hill, there are 
the traces of an earthwork, the nature of which is only con- 
jecture. Some have thought it an advanced post in connection 
with the camp on the top of the hill in British times ; others 
that it may have been a castellum of the Boman period, 
placed near the Ikenild, much used by that people, which 
runs east and west through Wilmington, and employed as a 
place for protection and for military supplies: and still others 
have conjectured that in later times the De Widworthy family 
may have had a mediaeval castle on that spot. The place is 
called " Castle Wood," but the area is not a circle, as some 



374 AHnQurriEs ik south-eastesn dxvqv. 

have described it, but rather an irregular triangle. The north 
side is neariy straight^ and measoies 108 feet; the west 
neariy straight, and measures 90 ; whilst the south and east 
sides are portions of a circle, or the south-east angle is veiy 
much rounded off The extent of these two sides is 142 feet 
All that remains is a flat area surrounded by a tenaoe some 
fiBet lower, which perhaps occupies the course of the wncToring 
ditch. 

Oketstonk, &o. — Whilst in this valley I must not omit to 
mention the Hoarstone or Oreystone that stands on tiie north 
side of the road, at about half a mile west of the village of 
WUmington, and almost exactly opposite the entrance gate of 
Widworthy Court, the seat of Sir Edward Elton, Bart This 
mass of stone stands about four feet out of the ground, 
though formerly higher. Great antiquity has always been 
attached to it Some writers have classed it as a Druidical 
monument^ and others as a Boman milestone or way-mark. 
Further west on this road, and on the north side of it^ there 
turns off a branch called ''Drummer Stone Lfljie;* and at 
about fifty yards up this lane, on the left or west side going 
up, there is a stone to which similar traditions attach. Iliis 
stone is now very small, as if it had been broken, being only 
16 or 18 inches out of the ground. The country peo^ will 
tell you that a r^ment of soldiers was once passing that way, 
and that a drummer of the regiment, worn out by sickness or 
fatigue, sat down and died by the side of that stone, a cir- 
cumstance to which it owes its present name. Of course this 
is a modem 8to^)^ 

Stockland Great Castle.— On Stockland Hill, north of 
Widworthy, lies Stockland Great Castle. The public road 
runs east and west right thi-ough the middle of it^ and this 
diameter measures 810 feet. The north and south diameter, 
consisting of the south half, 340 feet, width of the road 42, 
north half, 513, make together 895 feet. The vallum of the 
southern half has been entirely destroyed, and replaced by 
modem hedges; so that this portion presents only the ap- 
pearance of an oblong square field. At its eastern end there 
is a long narrow plot of ground occupying the place of the 
former vallum. The northern half is of irregular form, and 
it is supposed that it has been altered or added to since its 
original construction. The land is under tillage, and if there 
were ever an elevated spot for the commander's tent, it must 
have been levelled and obliterated No charcoal or vitrified 
stones attract the attention now, though they were formerly 
met with in this camp. A thumb-stone or scraper, being a 




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ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN DEVON. 375 

circular disc of flint nearly the size of a penny, was found 
here by Mr. Heineken, of Sidinouth. It has been stated 
that Athelstan posted himself here in 937, when the Danes 
entered the river Axe, but whom he overcame and destroyed 
in the valley below ; seven Saxon earls, slain in the engage- 
ment, were afterwards buried at Axminster. Having observed 
that some of our local writera speak of sling-stones as being 
met with in this place, and that a rude earthen jar filled with 
them had been discovered, sufficient inducement was held out 
to search for them. On my last visit the land had been 
recently ploughed, and the search was not long. They were 
easily seen at a glance, because they were so different from 
all the stones of the soil of the district. It may be here 
remarked, that if the sling-stones were the same in shape and 
size as the natural stones found on the spot they could not 
be distinguished from them, and no discovery could be made; 
and that if these natural stones of the place were round, 
globular, or spherical, there would be no need to fetch stones 
from a distance, because the slingers would only have to stoop 
down and pick up the pebbles under their feet. Now, the 
stones of this district are all sharp and angular; the geological 
formation is the greensand. Perhaps it would be well if 
every archaeologist were something of a geologist; for the 
sciences assist each other, as if not he may overlook important 
points in his pursuit, and may run the risk of arriving at 
false conclusions. In the greensand of Stockland Hill the 
plough turns up angidar pieces of chert and sandstone of a 
buff brown colour, mixed with sharp flints from the outliers 
of the chalk in the neighbourhood ; so that if oval grey 
beach pebbles are seen, about the size of a pigeon's egg or a 
small hen's egg, they are so obvious as to attract the eye in a 
moment The ancient Britons, or Eomans, or Saxons, or some 
other people who have now passed away, gathered them on 
the sea shore at Beer or Seaton, where they had been rounded 
by the action of the waves, and stored them up in the camp 
for use against their enemies. From the period when David 
took five smooth stones out of the brook down to the battle 
of Cressy, and later, the sling continued to be an engine of 
war. For geological reasons it would be useless to look for 
sling-stones at Woodbury Castle, or Belbury Castle on Ottery 
West Hill, or anywhere where the stratum of Budleigh 
Salterton pebbles exists. From the place where this pebble 
bed crops out in the face of the cliff at Budleigh Salterton, I 
have traced these materials of an ancient sea beach along 
Woodbury Hill, away in a north-easterly direction near Taun- 



376 ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN DEVON. 

ton, Glastonbury, Dursley, Worcester, Broomsgrove, Binning- 
ham, Lichfield, Normacott, in the Potteries, and so on ; not 
far from most of these places traces reveal themselves, and 
possibly they might be occasionally detected through York- 
shire to the mouth of the Tees, or in a north-westerly course 
towards Chester. As the pebbles of this stratum are well 
suited to the purpose, the slingers had got what they required 
on the spot. I have looked for sling-stones in some of the 
hill fortresses on tlie Haldon range, but observing that^ though 
most of the flints are mere splinters, still many of them are 
spherical, I at once gave up the search. 

But at Sidbury Castle, in March, 1864, a hoard of sling* 
stones was discovered, and as I was the first on the spot after 
the workmen had disturbed them, I can speak with confidence.* 
Some labourers were employed, I am sorry to say, to break 
up the ground too near the camp, and to bring a part of the 
south-west flank of the hill into cultivation. In digging 
against the outside slope of the inner agger they came upon 
a sort of cavern which was packed full of round pebbles ; there 
may have been as many as would have filled one or two wheel- 
barrows. This deposit was, in fact, the stock of ammunition 
belonging to some warrior who dwelt there. In the geological 
maps Sidbury Castle Hill is marked as belonging to the 
greensand formation, but |it is capped, like most of the hills 
in this neighbourhood, with a thick stratum of yellow clay 
mixed with sharp splinters of chert or angular flints, — and 
these angular flints constitute a marked feature and a well 
known character in the stones of the district. Hence it is, 
that when the men dug into this hoard, and began to scatter 
the smooth round pebbles, the circumstance immediately 
attracted their attention. One of them said to me, " We could 
see in a minute that those stones didn't belong to this hill ;" 
and another added, *' I should say they came from Sidmouth 
beach." I lay some stress upon the particulars of this dis- 
covery, because they assist us in the search in other places. 
It has been said that sling-stones have been found in Hem- 
bury Fort, but whenever I have been there the area has not 
been under tillage, but so overgrown with grass and furze 
that the search would have been hopeless. Whilst we are 
again speaking of llembury Fort, I beg to remind you that 
in the Itineraries of Antoninus and Eichard of Cirencester 
there is mention made of a Roman station called Moridunum, 
lying between Durnovaria, or Dorchester, on the east, and 

• Oommunicated by me to tho Exeter Gazeitty April 9tb, 1864. 



AITHQUITIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN DEVON. 377 

Isca, or Exeter, on the west, and situated at 36 M.P. or Roman 
miles from Dorchester, and 15 from Exeter. The site of this 
station has been altogether lost ; but during the past century 
or more, many laudable endeavours have been made to re- 
discover it. Several places have been suggested, but they 
have all been gradually abandoned in favour of the claims of 
Bampdon, and Hembury, near Honiton, and High Peak Hill, 
a mile and a half west of Sidmouth, on a cliff overhanging 
the sea, on which hill there are the remains of a strong fortress, 
the greater part of which has fallen away and been removed. 
Both Hembury and High Peak tally with the Itineraries, and 
are at the required distance from Exeter. The word Mori- 
dunum is said to be a Latinisation of the more ancient 
British form, M6r-y-dun, signifying a town or fortress upon 
a bill by the sea. Here the first syllable Mor means the 
sea, and consequently fixes the situation on the coast. Cam- 
den, Grale, Stukeley, and others whose names and authority 
we have been taught to respect, all accept this derivation, 
and consequently fix the lost station by the sea ; and in the 
OentUmetis Magazine for February, 1849, there is an article 
of mine on this subject, in which I contend for High Peak 
Hill, because this camp meets all the particulars of the 
Itineraries and of our best writers. However, two or three 
years ago, when I was sitting alone one day, a new light 
flashed across my mind. Why, thought I, should M6r-y-dua 
have been the original British word ? why not More-y-dun ? 
I presume it was only guess or conjecture that suggested the 
first syllable Mdr, the sea, to Camden and his followers. The 
word More simply means great, and gets rid of the maritime 
position altogether ; and if we are permitted to use our in- 
dependent judgment the name More-y-dun, standing for the 
Great Castle, or Town, or Hill Fortress, will well apply to 
Hembury Fort. Within recent times two or three Devonshire 
antiquarians of high standing have been inclined to think 
that Moridunum may have been at Hembury, but they have 
offered no new reading, nor any reason for so doing. If I 
have lately adopted this view it has been done as the result of 
reflection, and I suggest a new derivation for your acceptance. 
Stockland Little Castle. — About a quarter of a mile or 
more to the north of Stockland Great Castle, already described, 
lies Stockland Little Castle ; it is nearly a circle in figure, 
being 372 feet north-west by south-east, and 331 in the 
opposite direction. The agger is from eight to ten feet high, 
and composed of earth and stones mixed ; but on the inside 
it is made of dry stones carefully piled up, and in some places 



ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN 

with tolerable regulanty^ like a wall. \¥liether this ia really 
ancient and original work, or wht^ther it was only done about 
18B0 to 1830, when the land was first bronght into cultivation, 
ia a question for couaideration, and should not be overlooked. 
On tlie east aide of the area^ against the agger or hedge, there 
lies a large h^ap of loose angular flints, which look as if they 
had been thrown there when the land was cleared. It is said 
that this cainp was connected by a road with the larger one. 
The surrounding fosse has been entirely filiod up, except a 
email portion on the north side, where the vallum is tolerably 
perfect, and here the agger ia 35 feet on the slope. 

HocKSDoN, OR Hawksdown Hill Castle —From Stock- 
land, some eight or nine miles, in a direction to the east of 
south, stands Hawksdown Hill, crowned by a camp, which 
looks down upon Axmouth and the whole estuary of the river 
Axe. The hill forma a sort of promontory pointing to the west; 
it is high and steep, and a sort of natural hollow or chasm on 
the north- west flank makes its inaccessibility more complete 
at that point Those who have described this camp as enclosed 
with a triple vallum and fosse must have been labouring 
under a false impression. Like Dumpdon, and Sidbury Castle^ 
and most of the others, it is enclosed by two aggers with a 
ditch between them. The work is the most perfect at the 
east end, where the slope of the agger is fifty feet. The whole 
length of the interior area is 852 feet, 46() wide at the east 
end, and 420 about two-thirds towards the west, beyond 
which the figure contracts to a rounded point. At the south- 
east comer there is a heap of rough flints, apparently thrown 
there by the labourers when clearing the land. At this place 
and at the north-east point there are gaps, but the most likely 
spot for the original entrance seems to be towards the north- 
west, just where the camp begins to contract, and where there 
is still a steep path outside. Beyond the east end the ground 
is level, where there is a field about 200 feet wide ; at the 
further side of this field there is a hedge run across the ridge 
of the hill. It may be a question whether this hedge occupies 
the place of an old out-work, thrown up as an additional 
defence to the fortress itself. There was no difficulty in finding 
sling-stones scattered about the recently tilled ground any 
more than at Stockland The soil of the district is the same, 
and all the natural stones and flints are angular, so that the 
smooth, reund, or egg-shaped pebbles, which had probably 
come froEu Seaton beach, were discerned at a glance. Before 
I leave the subject of sUng-stones I would beg to impress 
upon my hearers^ that if any of them visit these places, and 






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ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN DEVON. ' 379 

see them lying on the ground, not to take them away. I 
have brought away a few for a certain purpose; they are 
valuable for the sake of illustrating my subject, but beyond 
that they are much more interesting on the spot where the 
ancient Britons, or the Eomans, or the Saxons left them. 

Seaton Down. — Eetuming from Hawksdown Hill across 
the valley of the Axe, about two miles westwards, we light 
upon Seaton Down. Suppose a person travelling on the road 
between Exeter and Lyme. On the crown of the hill just 
before descending to Colyford, there is a sort of spur that 
runs away north on the left hand side ; at its furthest end, 
where it is in its wild state, a ditch and agger have been 
carried east and west across the ridge, extending to the 
length of 770 feet. The slope of the agger is 33 feet. The 
ditch is on the south side, towards the mouth of the river Axe, 
as if an invading enemy were expected from that quarter. As 
if this defence were not enough, a second of a similar nature 
had been begun 466 feet to the rear of it, 130 feet long, and 
left unfinished. These works are very similar in their nature 
and object to those which traverse the ground at the Three 
Horseshoes, presently to be mentioned, and seem to have been 
intended to guard the road, and to oppose the passage of an 
enemy coming up from the valley of the river Axe. The 
completion of the second vallum was relinquished, perhaps, 
because the makers may have been attacked and driven out, 
or, perhaps, because the invaders may have marched off in 
another direction. Possibly these things may have occurred 
in 937, when Athelstan successfully opposed an inroad of the 
Danes in the valley below. 

HoNEYDiTCHES. — A mile south of Seaton Down lies Honey- 
ditches, or Hannaditches. On the east side of the road there 
is a long, narrow, curved field leading to a square field, in 
which latter are the remains of an extensive Boman villa. 
The long, narrow field is supposed to have been the original 
approach to the villa. The foundations of walls, crossing 
each other at right angles, begin close under the hedge at the 
top of the field, to the width of 40 feet north and south, and 
run downwards toward the east 145 feet. In the field above 
this there are some great pits, as if they had been reservoirs 
of water for the use of the house. About 200 feet below the 
villa, connected apparently by a drain or a wall, there is a 
rough piece of ground, measuring 48 by 56 feet. These 
places had been examined befoi-e by Sir Walter Trevelyan, 
the owner of the land ; but Mr. Heineken and myself turned 
up some lai^ thick tiles, an inch and a quarter thick, eleven 



880 AirnQuiTiES ur souTH-XAffnRir vwosi 

inches wide, but of uncertain lenffth, as they Iraie brokeo. 
The under edge had been chipped or bevelled off by tiie 
workman when he bedded them; and as they wwe mostly 
found apparently at the bottom of a cavity measuring about 
two feet by three, accompanied by traces of charooal, it is 
supposed they had formed some portion of a fnmaoeb omn, 
or hypocaust We also found flanged roof tiles^ and mcntar 
mixed with pounded brick. Besides these evidences of Boman 
occupation, many evidences of much later occupation ham 
been discovered, especially in the upper part near the hedbs^ 
such as mediaeval tiles, thin pieces of lias from the duh 
towards Lyme, where the lias crops out, with holes through 
for the p^ by which they were fixed to the roof; also pieoas 
of roofing slate, with holes for the pqgs*; and this is probaUy 
a still later evidence than the thin pieces of lias used for tM 
same purpose. One fragment of tile is impressed with groups 
of parallel lines with traces of letters. It is curious that the 
two groups of lines on this fragment are not parallel to eadi 
other, but converge to a point; and the letters on the spaoa 
between them converge to a point too; that is, they begin 
large and diminish towards the end. The first portion looks 
somewhat like the letters fiUnXp the rest being broken off A 
friend suggests that perhaps there may have been a ohapel 
or ecclesiastical building Uiere during the middle agea^ and 
that possibly the word may be intended for fiUMXtiU 

But most of our old writers on Devonshire antiquities 
speak of Honeyditcbes as an old camp nearly circular, but 
unfinished on its western side, and that perhaps it was thrown 
up by the Danes when they landed in the memorable year 
937, as before observed. From the situation of the place that 
now goes by that name, and from the objects exhumed there^ 
no one can infer that this was a Danish camp, or anything of 
that nature. The conclusion therefore at which we may 
arrive is this, that the original Honeyditcbes (the old camp) 
was somewhere else in the neighbourhood, probably not far 
off, and that the name has been shifted or transferred from 
one place to another. Possibly it may have been on Coocbill 
or Little Coochill, half a mile south-west, on the crown of 
which there is a peculiarly shaped field bearing traces of a 
fortified position. Quantities of stones were dug up and 
removed from this spot in or about 1862, and one of the men 
employed in so doing declared that the stones lay in lines as 
if they had been thrown into trenches and covered over, or 
followed the course of walls. Or it may have been on some 
hill nearer to the mouth of the river Axe ; for some speak of 



ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN DEVON. 381 

it as having been at about three quarters of a mile from that 
spot, whereas Coochill is nearly double that distance. 

Earthworks. — In my paper read before the Archaeological 
Association at Exeter in 1861, as before observed, I mentioned 
the traces of a ditch and agger behind the Three Horseshoes, 
a wayside inn on the road from Honiton through Eoncombe 
Gate to Colyfoi-d. It begins in a field behind the inn, and 
runs northward for more than 1000 feet to the declivity of 
the hill, where it turns eastward by a rounded corner. At 
that time this is all I knew of it ; but since then oppor- 
tunities have occurred of examining a continuation in the 
opposite direction for nearly another 1000 feet, until it ap- 
proaches the valley on that side. On consideration this must 
appear a very remarkable work. If we trace it from the 
north end at the rounded corner, which is nearly in front of 
Blackbury Castle, it runs in a direction somewhat to the west 
of south for about 2000 feet, right through the position of 
the Three Horseshoes, though at this spot of course it is 
obliterated, but the ridge is continued in the fields below. 
An old man living near, who recollected the land in its wild 
state before it had been brought into cultivation, declared in 
my hearing that at that period the ridge was from twelve to 
fifteen feet high, and that the ditch was on the east side of 
it — that is, the side towards Colyford. At first this appeared 
very strange, because it put the ditch on the inside of the 
corner. On reconsideration, this vallum could not have 
formed any part of an ancient camp. It had been drawn 
across the top of the hill at right angles to the public road ; 
and the ditch being on the east side, or the side of the enemy, 
may lead to the inference that this work was made for the 
purpose of keeping at bay or checking the advance of some 
force expected from the valley of the Axe. As it is just 
opposite Blackbury Castle, possibly it may have been thrown 
up by the occupiers of that camp; perhaps by the Britons to 
resist the Romans; perhaps by the Saxons to resist the 
Danes ; and it might be at the same time when the similar 
intrenchments were drawn across Seaton Down. 

I may here observe that the field opposite the Horseshoes 
is called " Chapel Close." A few paces from the west hedge, 
and at 72 from the north one, the plough had often been 
obstructed with stones, so an excavation was made, June 
17th, 1862. I saw the south-west corner of a building laid 
bara The walls were three feet thick. Perhaps some medi- 
aeval chapel may have stood there. The next field, on the 
west of this is known as "Chapel Meadow;*' and near the 

VOL. II. c c 



382 ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH-EASTBRN DSVQN. 

middle of this, and not far from the road, stones and traces 
of walls have been met with. 

Ibon Pits. — Several of our local writers have spoken of 
the existence of pits of various sizes and depths met with on 
the wild tops of many of the high hilLs in this neighbour- 
hood, but they all seem to speak from hearsay only. I am 
happy to say I can speak with more confidence. Where these 
pits have not been obliterated in the process of cultivation, 
they occur on the Blackdown range of hills, Ottery East HUl 
(just over Lincombe Farm), on Dunkeswell Common, and 
other places. The nearest spot to Honiton that I know of is 
a short distance beyond Woolford Lodge, and of these I will 
speak more particularly. The way to find them from Honiton 
is this : Go to Coombe Eawley ; then ascend the hill towards 
Woolford Lodge, and pass the entrance gate; a little way 
beyond this the four-mile stone from Honiton is seen on the 
right hand side, and a few score yards beyond this is a foar- 
cross way. Go straight on. Take the second field on the 
left. The field is full of fern and furze, still in its wild 
state. The pits occur mostly along its northern sida They 
are of various sizes, very irregular, and mostly close together. 
Though their sides were perpendicular when first dug, they 
have fallen in by time and become sloping. Some are very 
large. As an instance I may mention, that being once there 
with a friend and a one-horse carriage, and not wishing to 
court the idle curiosity of passers by, we led the horse and 
carriage down into the bottom of one of them, whilst we 
made an examination, and we were all quite out of sight to 
any person near. In the geological maps all these hills are 
described as of the greensand formation ; but above the 
greensand tliere is the usual stratum of flints and clay, and 
above this a subsoil bed in which the iron ore is found. It 
is what is called surface iron. It may seem rather strange 
that they should have sunk so many separate pits : one 
would have thought that it would have been better to have 
begun at one end, and to have dug onwards straight through. 
It is in these places that the ore is found : the smelting 
operation was perlormed elsewhere. Great quantities of scoria 
and cinders have been discovered at different spots of the 
Blackdown district, showing where this process was performed. 
There is a largo heap at Clivehayes Farm, Churchstaunton : 
a quantity once existed at Bowerhayes Farm, near Dunkeswell 
Abbey; some more in a field at Tidborough, near Hemyock ; 
and in less quantities at Kentisbeer, Culmstock, Uffculm, and 
so on. 



ON THE PSEUDOMORPHOUS CRYSTALS OF CHLORIDE OF 
SODIUM, & THEIR OCCURRENCE IN DEVONSHIRE. 

Br O. WAREINQ ORMEROD, M.A., F.O.S. 



The occurrence of the pseudomorphous crystals of chloride 
of sodium in the Trias of England was, it is believed, firs